Lie, Cheat, Steal, and Survive
by KingofZeroX
Summary: Awakening to a Semblance, Roman sees his own death. Rather, all his paths lead to him dying. Cursing Cinder, Roman betrays all his criminal contacts and seeks refuge in Beacon Academy with Neo. But now there's a long list of people who want Roman dead. Trapped in a team of idiots and surrounded by assassins, Roman will now have to outplay them all in the only way he knows how.
1. Lied

**Prologue: Lied**

* * *

 **A Log Cabin in the Wilderness of Vale**

* * *

Flames ate through the door, gnawed on the ceiling beams, licked the tips of his shoes, and their roar was the music for _her_ entrance. Hair as black as sin and a dress as red as blood, Cinder entered his room. Seated in his chair against the opposite wall, he levelled Melodic Cudgel at her and fired. The firework-like bullet went straight through her as if she were a ghost, soaring out the door and exploding in the snow outside. Roman kept up his confident facade with his signature smirk, but he knew this was the end. Her follower already had his mind in her hands and was playing with it like it was damn silly putty. Cinder's smugness radiated from her as she approached him. A ceiling beam fell behind her, consumed by the flames. Roman wiped the sweat off his brow and began to fan himself with a handful of lien cards.

"You must make a fortune, Hotfoot. I can't imagine how much you save people on their heating bills." Roman sneered. "Which brings into question what a human heater such as yourself is doing in a dress like that. The ball is down the road and straight off the cliff, Hotfoot. You should hurry up. They're waiting for you to jump."

"Is that all you have? You must be tired. How cute." Cinder chuckled. "It's been quite a chase. You can only use your little follower as a diversion for so long, Roman." Cinder leaned in close. "No matter how far you run or how well you try to hide, I will find you. I am your angel of death. You can't avoid the inevitable." She stroked his cheek with a hand marred by burn scars.

He looked past her, looked for the seams, the little details that often went unnoticed. Smell, sound, even taste were masked to make him believe his cabin was on fire. He stared through the flames, the brightness searing his eyes. Behind Cinder, towards the door, were two sets of snowy footprints. One stopped to the right of the door in the corner, while the other went farther left and stopped near a window. 50/50 chance. He could raise those odds.

"Unless you're about to pull a halo out of your ass..." Roman grinned. "Angel is a strong word for a bitch in heat. "

He threw his handful of lien and fell backwards out of his chair, narrowly dodging the blade of glass that came from his left and pierced the wooden wall behind him. As he fell, he fired off another shot from Melodic Cudgel, this time aimed at the right corner, opposite the direction of where the blade came from. A girl screamed and the Cinder in front of him vanished along with the flames that "consumed" his cabin. Now visible, a green-haired girl, Emerald, was collapsed against the wall near the door and Cinder glowered off to his left with a black knife in her hand. Free from the illusion, Roman pushed himself to his feet and ran at Cinder. She threw a kick at him on reflex, but he slid underneath and swept her remaining foot with Melodic Cudgel. Cinder caught herself with her free hand and flipped herself back onto her feet while Roman continued past her and out the door. Scowling, she threw her knife at him.

Cinder's knife found her target and Roman tripped down the stairs of the cabin and fell into the snow. Glancing back to see that smug face in the doorway of his hideout, Roman cursed and continued running into the snow, leaving a trail of blood behind him. There was no doubt he'd be easy to track now. The only reason he could keep trudging through the snow was that she was playing with him.

He hated being toyed with.

Roman fell again, gasping for air as heat continued to leak out of his body and stain the snow red. He'd been so close. Where did he go wrong? What mistake did he make? His eyelids grew heavier than he'd ever thought they could. The icy wastes began to feel warm, like the mother's embrace Roman had never known. The white flakes became a blanket for him, the soft ground an eternal pillow for his weary head. He knew what she wanted. Cinder wanted to watch him die and laugh and monologue and all the other things _he'd_ be doing if he were in her position. Even if he ran and survived, she'd never let him go.

Then… wouldn't the best answer be to stop running then? To not give her the satisfaction of seeing what expression he made as he died? He tried to lift his body but his arms spasmed and went back face first into the snow. His legs only kicked up more snow and made him colder. He tried to crawl, but he couldn't get a good grip on any snow or ice. The nearest tree root was too far away. Roman tasted iron in his mouth and realized he'd been biting his lip the whole time.

Stretching his arm out into the snow, he lifted his middle finger. If he was going to die frozen, he'd leave a little something for her. She'd probably roll her eyes at the gesture or laugh at the futility of it. His breathing became even more shallow, and his chest hurt. Cardiac arrest. Wouldn't be long now.

Neo was out there somewhere, waiting with her illusions ready for an attack from Cinder that would never arrive. When she found out he died, would she miss him? Would she avenge him?

Would she even care?

Roman coughed out a laugh with red-stained teeth and gave one last smirk.

The world was cold.

* * *

"Before you ask, last night was a bust too. Because _of course it was_." Roman pinched the bridge of his nose. Pulling a knife out of one of his desk drawers, Roman continued, "Just my luck, Neo. I get the best damn Semblance this side of Remnant, but, no matter what I do, I kick the damned bucket right into a pit of fire and snakes _and_ fall right in after it."

Roman threw the knife straight at the hand-drawn poster of Cinder pinned to the opposite wall of his office, but, like all the others, it hit the wall at the wrong angle and bounced off. He reached for another knife, but frowned when he saw his desk drawer empty. Neo briefly applauded at the attempted throw, but continued playing the game on her Scroll a moment later.

Torchwick Furniture Co.™ was his business cover that, so far, had successfully masked his less than legal ventures thanks to the few warehouses he was able to get his hands on. He had a plain, oak desk and a few office chairs with some filing cabinets in the corner. The room's spartan decor spoke of how little he cared for social aspect of the furniture cover and how few clients he received. It only had one window alongside the left wall, and a door sat against the wall across from Roman. Neo, his pink and brown-haired and eyed follower, had curled up into the office chair across him on the opposite side of his desk, and she was furiously tapping away at the Scroll with the pink tip of her tongue poking out between her lips.

It was her "intense concentration" face.

"Knife in the back, blood all over the snow. An absolute mess," Roman said to Neo, rubbing his back. Like every time, the pain took a while to go away. She smiled when he said that, no doubt having fond bloody snow-related memories. Or something else entirely. Even Roman hardly knew what she was thinking most of the time.

He spun his chair around to look at the bare wall behind his desk. The visions had been coming for a while now. Ever since Cinder approached him with a proposal for a plan to steal all the Dust from Vale, he kept experiencing his own death. He'd never expected Cinder's intimidation to go far enough to trigger a Semblance awakening, but, ever since the first vision where he'd been devoured by a Grimm in the middle of a fight, Roman had set his sights on one goal. Surviving. Unfortunately, every day he planned and made a different decision was ruined when night came and sleep showed him a new death. He'd long given up on sleeping normally.

Cinder's deadline for his answer was that very night and he couldn't talk his way into buying more time. Joining her resulted in death by a young girl in red, but refusing Cinder resulted in her or her little henchmen killing him.

He'd been burned alive by her multiple times.

Tricked via illusion into running off a cliff.

Stabbed repeatedly. Saying "No, not the face!" didn't work.

His ass was kicked through, both figuratively and literally.

Boiled like he was nasty, human-sized noodle.

Forced to swallow a small Grimm that tasted like cold coffee... only for that same Grimm to burst through his chest a few minutes later.

Oh, and he was pushed in front of an ambulance once. By Cinder. He almost laughed at that one.

There was no way out. He couldn't hire enough protection to stop her if he spent every last lien he had. Although he'd worked so hard to build up his cover and steal what he could get away with stealing, he still couldn't compare to big business-owning criminals like Junior. Roman was small-time and Cinder knew it. He was trapped.

"Neo, I pay you well, correct?" Roman asked. Neo frowned and got out of her chair before walking over to him and holding cupping her hands together. Her lips quivered and her eyebrows drew up. Sighing, Roman reached inside his jacket, pulled out a lien card, and then tossed it to her. Neo caught it between her index and middle finger and winked at him.

"Neo, I pay you _well_ , correct?" He repeated. This time Neo nodded, to his wallet's relief. "Then I think it's time you contribute to your employer's well being. Any suggestions worth a 50,000 lien bonus?"

Hearing the magic words, Neo tilted her head for a moment before snapping her fingers. Beaming, she walked over to the window and pointed out something in the distance. Beacon Academy. Roman sighed.

"It's completely idiotic and there is no way this will work, but... that may just be what Cinder is thinking as well. Fine, let's do something stupid." He stood and stretched his arms. "I'll go test the water, then be back for a quick nap. Watch the office while I'm gone and wait for my messages, Neo. And for the love of Remnant, don't stab the customers this time. I don't need the extra headache."

Neo gave a worryingly angelic smile.

Roman moved towards the door, but stopped when his hand touched the doorknob. He looked back at Neo, the one person who'd been with him ever since he started his thieving affairs and had never left his side since. He didn't have any family, nor any friends who wouldn't stab him in the back if they thought it would get them ahead. As far as he knew, neither did she. Then again, he hardly knew any personal details about her. Not even her age.

He couldn't stop the question starting to form in his mouth. "Neo, hypothetically, if I actually died …"

Neo nodded expressionlessly, urging him to go on. Roman looked away from her and tipped his black bowler hat down.

"Nevermind. It was a stupid question. I already know the answer."

* * *

Ozpin relaxed in his office for the first time in weeks. Even though the new students had not yet come in, the last few weeks had been rife with problems with the dorms or Professor Port's captured Grimm escaping. The headmaster of Beacon sipped hot chocolate from his mug and closed his eyes, listening to the gentle, eternal clockwork of his office.

On his desk, his work Scroll lit up with a message. Answering the Scroll, Ozpin leaned into his chair, enjoying the gentle creaking as his eyes met with the gears above him.

"Yes, Glynda?"

" _Somebody of interest just arrived."_

"Oh? And who would that be exactly?"

" _Roman Torchwick. He apparently wishes to 'cut a deal'."_

Ozpin smiled. This situation wasn't abnormal. Huntsmen and Huntresses were necessary for fighting the Grimm and Ozpin wouldn't dare let potential capable students slip through his fingers. He wasn't afraid of granting a second chance for those who had the ability. Mankind had to be united against the Grimm rather than spend time tearing each other apart. It was his hope that there could be an undercurrent of rehabilitation in his Academy. Heroes could come from the unlikeliest of places, after all.

He'd seen such stories happen firsthand.

"Allow me to guess. He's seeking protection from a criminal he's enraged."

" _Right as always, Headmaster."_

"In that case, the usual. All his criminal contacts must be handed over, all his under the table deals and contracts exposed, and all ties to criminal society severed. Oh, and do tell him we'll take good care of that furniture business for him until he properly becomes a Huntsman."

" _Understood. Would you like to speak to him, sir? He claims to have information about an individual who wants to, and I quote, 'steal all the Dust in Vale'."_

Ozpin paused and he could feel the gears grinding through the floor, sending vibration after vibration into him.

"Please send him up, Glynda."

If others knew what he did with these criminals that applied to Beacon, they wouldn't understand. The fact that Beacon still stood despite this program spoke only of how effective it was... and how severe the punishment for breaking his trust was.

* * *

"This 'Cinder' plans to steal all the Dust in Vale? For what purpose?" Ozpin asked. Seated opposite of him was Roman, holding a manila envelope and fanning himself with it.

"Why would I know? Maybe you did something to piss her off, hmm? Maybe a little Grimm killed her family and those famous Huntsmen of yours weren't there to save her. You Huntsmen do like to be everywhere but where you're needed, after all," Roman replied airily. Ozpin raised an eyebrow, but, smiling, took a sip from his mug. The gears above grinded against each other, but he could hear them stutter. They'd never stuttered before.

"You'll soon see how untrue that is. That aside, I suppose we'll have to keep a closer eye on our Dust. _If_ this information proves reliable, I will compensate you, of course. I would also like to thank you for your cooperation with all of our conditions." In response, Roman slid the manila envelope across the desk. Ozpin grabbed it and opened it before pulling out one of the documents.

"Your lackey tried to explain it to me, but I already knew. Preparation is key, after all. My life comes first. I'd be a lunatic if I thought differently," Roman answered. "Every contact since I started working in Vale and all the information I have on that flaming bitch is right there. Is that a fair enough price?"

"Of course." Ozpin slid paper he'd been reading back into the envelope and tucked the whole package under his left arm. "However, the goal of you joining us is that you _will_ think differently." Ozpin extended his right hand, which Roman shook with a smug smirk. "Welcome to Beacon. Until the time classes begin, you'll be under our protection. You'll be given a new identity as well, for your own safety."

Roman stood.

"A _pleasure_ doing business with you. You know where to find me once you've verified all that information." He tipped his hat and turned away, heading towards the door.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something." Ozpin stood from behind his desk. "Until classes start, you'll be under our _protection_. I'm afraid I can't let you leave and risk your life. Or, perhaps, go warn your contacts. Though surely you've already warned them, correct?" Ozpin grinned at Roman's silence. "This is all simply common sense. After all, I'm sure you understand the risk we're undertaking by protecting you. Oh, and we'll be taking your Scroll too. Temporarily, of course."

Roman froze.

"You've masterfully avoided getting caught red-handed. You're a petty thief, Roman, but I've been watching you. You're clever, dextrous, and charismatic. You'll make a great Huntsman." Ozpin drank from his mug. "The only thing I can't seem to understand is why a 'technically innocent' individual like yourself would come here and seek the criminal's deal."

Roman turned, smiling innocently. "I need the extra protection and I want to put a foot-long thorn on Hotfoot's little throne," Roman said. "I'm no fool. Although the cops can't make a move on me, you know whenever a criminal tries to apply. I thought I'd cut out the middleman and bring a little... incentive as well."

Ozpin narrowed his eyes before mirroring Roman's smile. "Either way, you're here now. Feel free to head back down to the ground floor after you place your Scroll on my desk. Professor Port will show to your dorms. We'll send someone to get your luggage later. Don't worry. That includes your weapon."

Roman opened his mouth to say something, but, apparently thinking better of it, closed his mouth, threw his Scroll at Ozpin's desk, and turned around and walked to the elevator at the back of the office.

"Your second Scroll as well," Ozpin called out. The headmaster caught the high velocity Scroll thrown at him with one hand and smiled. "I don't think I need to say what might happen if you left out any information out or lied to me, do I?"

* * *

Once inside the elevator, Roman's anger disappeared and he smirked.

He reached into the front of his pants and pulled out a third Scroll. Crude, but effective.

"It was easier than I thought. I'll be staying here for two months until classes start. You know what to do. Make sure it looks real. They need to buy it completely. And no need to warn any of our 'friends'. They'll need to take the fall for me this time."

A feminine grunt of affirmation came through the other line and, satisfied with the reply, Roman hung up. If they're going to keep an extra close eye on the "criminal" student, then he's that much safer. It was just a short stint in a much more comfortable prison with better food. He'd spent time in worse places.

That night, after a horrendous day of storytelling with a portly professor, Roman fell asleep in a dorm room all to himself.

* * *

 **In a Warehouse in Vale**

* * *

On the edge of the Industrial District in Vale where the police presence was almost non-existent, one warehouse away from all the others had its lights on. The warehouse itself was three houses wide and constructed from metal walls. Those metal walls were topped by a glass ceiling that had long been dirtied to the point that not a soul could see through them. Amidst rusted walls and mountains of crates, Cinder's trio waited for a certain somebody.

"He's running late. I don't like this," Emerald said for the tenth time. The green-haired girl sat atop one of the money wooden crates in the area while Mercury had made himself comfortable and was fine-tuning one of his metal legs in a chair he'd brought himself. Cinder refused to sit, of course. It was hard to appear threatening in a folding chair.

"Patience, Emerald. His type submits to power. And power is what we have to spare. I'm certain he knows which side is the winning one," Cinder assured her subordinate. Mercury whistled as he tightened a bolt on his leg with his wrench.

"That's nice and all, but can I kill him if he doesn't show up soon? It's been far too long," he asked.

"Oh, come on! It's only been a week since last time!" Emerald shouted. Mercury sighed.

"Tsk, tsk. A week is too long. Besides, it's not like anybody would miss him." Mercury grinned.

"What makes you think _you_ get the right to kill him?" Emerald asked, leaning forward with her arms crossed.

"Silence," Cinder commanded. The two of them obeyed, though not before Mercury knocked an eyebrow in Emerald's direction and smirked. The large, metal warehouse door opened and in walked an exceedingly short figure wearing a large backpack. Roman's follow, Neopolitan, had arrived without her boss around. Neo smiled before skipping over to just in front of the trio of villains.

"So he was too afraid to show up in person," Cinder remarked, shaking her head. "I expected better of him. I take it he either sent you to die or to deliver his acceptance. So which is it?"

Neo stared at her and didn't move, her lifeless pink and brown eyes contrasting with her innocent grin. Cinder nodded at Emerald, letting her know to use an illusion as an insurance. This seemed too odd. Cinder had seen this girl beforehand trailing behind Roman. She was a secretary of sorts, Cinder had figured.

"What's with this girl? It's like her head's… not even there?" Emerald said, her eyes widening. Without hesitation, Cinder's dress glowed and she threw sand in the air, superheating it into glass before throwing the hot dagger at the girl.

The space in front of the girl shattered, a cobweb of cracks appearing in midair before falling down like glass that dissipated upon touching the floor, revealing the large backpack the girl had been holding. Red dust bled out onto the floor from a large cut in the bag and the words "Burn, Bitch" were written on the front of it. Of course, Cinder had hardly any time to read that before her heated dagger pierced it.

The resulting explosion of heat and force melted the ground near the bag, the crates around it broke into woodchips and then burned into ash. The glass ceiling broke apart and shards of sharp glass rained down before being liquidized by the heat as the force tore about the doors and walls of the warehouse to escape it and spread out, causing fire damage to the two warehouse on either side and scorching their walls. Dock workers outside the warehouse ran, some being crushed by heated debris while those unfortunate enough to be walking past it caught fire from the explosion. Some dove into the water. Others didn't make it.

However, in the collapsing warehouse, a thick, triple-reinforced wall of glass stood, half-melted. Cinder coughed out a lungful of smoke as she collapsed to her knees. Her Aura had been completely depleted despite the power she'd gained from the Fall Maiden and her hands were severely burned from holding the glass wall, but she had survived. Behind her, Emerald and Mercury also coughed, struggling to breath. Everything around them burned and the smoke was relentless, drying out and cooking their insides with every breath.

Ever since Cinder had gained half of the Fall Maiden's power, she'd felt secure, safe even. Nobody could compare to her. Cinder had control over her life, her destiny, over the lives of others. Cinder had the power she'd always dreamed of. She'd even forgotten what fear felt like.

Cinder looked down at her burnt hands and trembled. Emerald and Mercury got to their feet and lifted her to her feet, carrying her out of the warehouse while being mindful of her hands. Cinder's hands wouldn't stop shaking no matter how she tried to force them, her spine wouldn't heat up, her sweat wouldn't evaporate.

The rest was a blur.

Bright lights and police showed up, saw their faces.

Emerald and Mercury shouted, left her to rest and fought.

She felt something cold on her hands.

Something soft beneath her head.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she knew it she fled into sleep.

On that day, Cinder swore.

No matter what, she would erase Roman Torchwick from Remnant.

* * *

 **Excerpt from the Vale Police Department report submitted to Ozpin**

* * *

 _...seven dead and five left severely injured. One of the burnt corpses was much smaller than the others. Forensics believes that a little girl was caught in the blast. The three suspects behind the attack were injured and not only fled from police questioning, but assaulted and severely injured seven officers. Four of them are not expected to survive the night. A manhunt is currently underway for the three suspects and their likenesses are being sketched as this report is being typed. Although we currently do not know as to why they targeted this specific warehouse, some of our analysts suspect this may be a terrorist attack. We are taking measures to reduce media coverage so as to not fulfill their probable goal._

 _On our pride as the VPD, we will catch them._

* * *

 **A/N:** My first attempt at a RWBY fic of any kind. Had this idea for a while and really took a lot of time trying to form this fic. Went through many revisions. I know this fandom is big on ships, but I'm not going to declare any. Things will develop naturally.

Side note: I'm taking "lien" to be equivalent to yen in value rather than dollars.

Also, Flux Casey and I did a full review of RWBY over on Fandom Flux on youtube, so check that out if you're interested.

If you're a fan of my writing who is curious about my main story, don't worry. I'm working on the next chapter. Been a busy couple of months and I needed to get this one out.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Implanted

**Chapter 1: Implanted**

* * *

 _He was in a white room._

 _Covered in a white sheet._

 _White curtains, a white wristband, a white tube leading out of his arm._

 _Tears fell on his face, but they weren't his._

 _Don't leave us, the strangers said._

 _We need you, the strangers said._

 _I love you, a stranger said._

 _But he was at peace, and he knew his time had come. He accepted his end. It was surprisingly easy._

 _And Roman Torchwick died, surrounded by people who loved him._

* * *

 **Two Months Later, Airship to Beacon Academy**

* * *

"And then I was like blam, blam, blam and zipped around and boom! Kicked him right in the face!" Ruby explained, using various arm motions and gestures in rapid succession. "Those bad guys that tried to break into that shop didn't even know what hit them!"

Yang laughed, her long blond hair swaying as she reached over with one arm and pulled her dark-haired sister close. "That's my sis for ya!" An embarrassed smile spread over Ruby's face as Yang's familiar warmth spread to her. She missed this.

The observation deck of the ship was sparse at this point, what with everyone getting their share of motion sickness and awe from staring out at the shrinking ground and endless horizon. Only a few handful remained, including the red-robed, black battle-skirt wearing Ruby and brown leather-jacketed, black shorts-donning Yang. Their boots clinked against the steel walkway of the observation deck as Yang released Ruby.

"I can't believe people are dumb enough to try to break into a Dust shop like that nowadays." Yang chuckled. "It's like they're asking to get their butts kicked by my little sister." She nudged Ruby and winked.

Ruby blinked her silver eyes and tapped her feet together with a slight flush of her cheeks. Eyes on the ground, she said, "Oh, you know me, kicking butts is one of my specialties. That Junior guy was no pushover, though. I still can't believe he got away with those White Fang guys." Yang flinched, but kept silent, letting Ruby continue. "I just hope I'm good enough." Ruby looked up and opened her arms wide enough to hold what little of the world she understood. "Skipping two years, getting into Beacon— It's all so sudden, you know? And then you hear about the White Fang all over Vale or see all those wanted posters. I came here to fight Grimm, not… Well, you know."

"Aw, don't say stuff like that," Yang smiled. "You'll do fine, Ruby! You're just getting started. Besides, I guarantee all of that junk will blow over long before you graduate. Instead of worrying, you should be putting yourself out there and make some friends! With a personality like yours, you'll just be the bee's kne—" Yang cut herself off when she noticed a small girl, smaller than even Ruby, with black twintails and black eyes watching them, eyes fixated on Ruby. The girl approached them, smiling as if she'd finally gotten the toy in the corner of the crane machine, but didn't say a word.

"Lookee here, you already got somebody who wants to talk to you." Yang grinned and playfully punched Ruby's shoulder. "Well, I've got some friends of my own to talk to so I'll just let y'all to get to know each other and stuff okay bye!" The blonde zipped away, leaving her only sister alone with a stranger. Ruby reached out her hand a fraction of a second too late, and thus was abandoned to her fate of conversation with the mysterious girl.

"Hi? Can I help you?" Ruby asked as she took a step back. The girl looked a, pulled out her Scroll and checked it, and then extended a hand towards Ruby with a welcoming grin. With a strained smile, Ruby shook the girl's hand and swallowed.

"Okay, so, what's your name?" Ruby asked. The young girl looked down at her Scroll and began typing, ignoring Ruby.

Testing her current situation, Ruby took a step away and the girl took a step after her, still typing. Ruby's shoulders slumped and she looked around only to find that, unfortunately, they were now alone on the observation deck. Rocking on her heels, Ruby decided to take a step towards the strange girl.

"Well, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose. You know, like the color? And the flower? And the gem? And my clothes?" Ruby forced a laugh. The small girl nodded and lifted her Scroll to Ruby.

{My name is Nilla Stracolate and I'm a new student too! Nice to meet you! Can we be friends? Everyone else here is sooo tall and it's hard for me to reach them,} The message read. Ruby's face flushed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you couldn't talk! This makes way more sense now!" Ruby apologized. "Sure, we can be friends!" Rubbing the back of her head, Ruby added, "Truth be told, I don't exactly have many of those. That's kind of what happens when you live in the Patch all your life. Yep, reeeal rural and out of the way. I mean, it's not like I don't have _any_ friends, but friends, right? So… hard to, uh, find." Ruby sighed as she decided to not dig herself into an even deeper hole.

' _Pull yourself together, Ruby! Remember your training! Be polite, maintain eye contact, and don't sound like a desperate weirdo!'_ Ruby reminded herself.

{I always wanted to go see the Patch! I hear it's a lovely little place.} Nilla's reply read. Ruby almost fist-pumped.

' _Yes! Conversation! It's happening!'_

"It is! There's so many trees and birds and you _barely_ have to worry about the Grimm there. They make good practice, but otherwise it's just a really nice place to live," Ruby replied, her eyes shining. "Heck, I'm already starting to miss it."

{Really? I've never missed my home.} Nilla's message read. {My current life is too much fun! There's all sorts of action and adventures!} Ruby beamed.

"I'd love to hear, I mean read, your stories!" Ruby exclaimed, correcting herself halfway through. "Heroic adventures are my jam, girl. I've read every single one I could get my hands on."

Nilla smirked as she started to type in her scroll. For a split second, Ruby thought she saw Nilla's eyes as pink and brown. Ruby rubbed her eyes and checked again to see Nilla's eyes were their normal black color.

' _Note to self: No more dark chocolate before bed… even if it is really good.'_

* * *

The airship landed without incident with the exception of one sick young man who threw up once during the flight and another time after they landed. Nilla had many stories to tell Ruby… is what Ruby would have liked to say. Nilla had actually spent the remaining few minutes of the flight trying to type a single story and still hadn't finished by the time they landed. That being said, Nilla was a good listener and listened to Ruby's story, the one where she almost stopped the currently wanted criminal Junior and got noticed by Miss Goodwitch. The two friends stopped in the courtyard of the school as people continued past them towards the auditorium for the entrance ceremony.

"And this." Ruby extended the rose red device into a scythe. "Is Crescent Rose! It's a scythe and a sniper rifle! Now show me yours, please!"

Nilla pulled out her pink and brown patterned umbrella and pushed a button on its crooked handle, causing a blade to pop out of the end before pushing the button once more and the pulling a sword free from the umbrella. Ruby put her hand to her chin.

"Does it shoot?"

Nilla shook her head.

"So it's just a sword disguised as an umbrella?" Ruby realized her tone and put a hand to her mouth. "Not that that's bad or anything! It's stylish and, um, basic, but the basics are really reliable too!"

Nilla shook her head again with a frown and put the sword back into its umbrella sheath and extended the umbrella outwards before grabbing Ruby's Crescent Rose of her hands (eliciting a "Hey!" from the girl in red), and firing it at the umbrella. The bang of the shot rang out into the sky and Nilla's umbrella was sent flying, but the girl aimed Crescent Rose at the ground behind her and shot herself after it, hooking the toe of her boot in the handle of her umbrella in midair and flipped it back into her hands. Nilla held the umbrella above her head and descended slowly back to the ground. Several bystanders clapped as Nilla strut back to Ruby with a confident smile.

"What was that all about?!" Ruby exclaimed as she hugged her now slightly emptier Crescent Rose. Nilla only held out the umbrella.

There was not a scratch on it.

Ruby dropped to her knees.

"Okay, I take everything I may have or may have not said back. That is _really_ cool. A light weight sword and shield with high defensive properties that can act separately, as one weapon, or a freaking parachute is really, really cool." Ruby looked up at Nilla. " _But_ , what if it _also_ was a gun?"

Nilla's eyes widened as if a whole new world opened up to her in that instant: a world of death, destruction, and so much, oh so much, gunfire.

* * *

Weiss Schnee stood by her luggage cart, waiting for her servants to finish unloading everything and come and take it away from her. Since she was transporting a lot of Dust, she couldn't afford to take her eyes off until then, lest some idiot, like the ones playing loudly in the middle of the courtyard, wander by and blow it all up. Weiss inhaled the relatively warm air, not missing for a second the frozen winds of her home.

No matter what, she needed to become a Huntress.

"I find it surprising that somebody as beautiful and recognizable as you hasn't had her luggage taken away already, Miss Schnee," a voice suddenly called out. Snapping to attention, Weiss found a tall, red-suited man with a black bowler hat leaning against her luggage with a smile on his face.

' _I didn't even hear him approach. How can I expect to be a Huntress if anybody can just sneak up on me?'_ Weiss scolded herself and forced a practiced smile onto her face.

"They're still unloading the luggage. Are you staff here?" Weiss asked. He was older than her, but not more than a few years. She also didn't recall seeing him on the airship over, though she might have missed him. Either way, she'd had politeness beaten into her enough that she had respect authority. More than that, she couldn't risk screwing up here. This was her chance at freedom.

"A student, just like you. Jack Candlestick is my name," the man, Jack, said. After moving up from his bow, Jack smiled. "I've heard a lot about you and the Schnee Dust Company. What's an heiress like you doing in a place like this?"

His brown hair covered one eye and his visible blue eye watched her just like so many of her father's associates did. Assessing her, judging her, whatever they tried to call it, she was used to it by now.

Didn't mean it didn't make her angry.

"I'm here to be a Huntress, same as any other girl. Now get away from luggage and leave me alone," Weiss said. He took a few steps away from her luggage, smiling. Her fake smile cracked, then shattered. "I didn't come here to be social. So if you're done here, then go away and bother somebody else."

"And the princess is just as cold as the rumors say. How boring," Jack said as he walked backwards away from her. "But here's the thing, doll." He stopped walking. "Being social and being alone aren't mutually exclusive. You can be social _and_ be lonely. That's how most of society functions." He winked.

"I am _not_ boring and I am not lonely! You don't even know me!" Weiss stamped her foot and shouted. Jack chuckled. She shook her head before pointing at him. "I don't even know _you_! Gah, why are you still here?!"

"Because you're most likely one of the most well-trained and well-equipped here and now is the perfect time to scout for team members? Or are you telling me you weren't planning on doing the same?" He asked, shrugging. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Like _I'd_ ever join a team with _you_. You walk up to me and insult me to my face and expect me to _work_ with you? Are you an idiot?" Weiss asked. Jack smirked.

"I think the girl who left a worry free life to fight and die against monsters deserves that title. But don't worry, you're just the kind of idiot I'd be willing to let work under me. I'll see you when initiation starts," Jack said, walking away.

"Hey, I'm not done with you!" Weiss called after him, but at that moment her men had finally unloaded her luggage onto a few carts and she had no choice but to turn and yell at them to be extremely careful.

' _What a jerk! Was he_ trying _to start a fight?! I can't believe somebody like that got into Beacon! I won't forget this, Jack!'_

* * *

A strong first impression is key, and Roman always felt there was no stronger first impression than a negative one. He doubted that Weiss Schnee of all people remembered every dolt who tried to curry favor with her. It would be the first thing she'd expect after a lifetime of being pampered and treated as an heiress with a huge stack of cash.

Standing in the crowd of students in Beacon's auditorium, Roman smirked. He'd spent a long time getting ready for this day. Ozpin had been more than happy to give him a new look and name, although 'Jack' was painfully boring, but he'd made the best of it. He'd made sure to get plenty of sleep. His current recurring dream could only be described as ideal and he would make sure it became a reality. Not to mention, Neo had successfully faked her own death.

Everything was going perfectly.

"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge— to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Roman could feel Ozpin's eyes focus on him as the headmaster gave his welcoming speech to all the students. The headmaster walked off the auditorium stage and all the other students around Roman broke into whispers, talking about how strange Ozpin seemed or how disconnected he was. The blonde with the cape, Glynda Goodwitch, he recalled, continued on to tell them how they'd sleep in the ballroom and begin initiation tomorrow. Roman glanced back, seeing that, several rows of people behind him, Weiss was glaring at him.

He tipped his hat and smiled.

A few rows of people ahead of him, he could hear the girl's incredibly loud voice.

"And get this, Yang! Her umbrella. Blocks. Bullets."

"Shut. Up."

"I know! Imagine if it could also shoot things too! Ah, she's so super cool!"

"See? You're making friends the instant I leave you, Ruby. Maybe I should leave more often?"

"Noooo, Yaaaaaang. Sisters have to stick together!"

Roman's ears perked up. A sister?

' _Neo, you're trying too hard. My wallet can only reward so much hard work,'_ he thought, licking his lips as he slid through the crowd of people. Arriving at the voices, he saw the girl in red, Ruby, teary-eyed and hanging onto the taller, blond girl's waist who laughed it off. Neo, the first to notice him, lit up and ran past the two of them, jumping into his stomach. Returning her tight hug, he laughed, drawing the attention of the sisters.

"There you are, Nilla! I've been looking all over for you!" He exclaimed. Ruby let go of Yang and and wandered over to them, curious. Neo let go of him and gave a well-rehearsed smile before pointing at the girl in red.

"Oh, is this your friend?"

Neo nodded vigorously. Roman took a step forward and extended a hand to Ruby, his professional smile now coming in handy.

"Jack Candlestick, at your service. I hope you my cousin Nilla hasn't been bothering you?" He said. Ruby took his hand and shook it excitedly.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Ruby and this is my sister Yang! Your cousin is so nice!" Then, realizing she was still shaking his hand, Ruby abruptly dropped it and coughed into her hand and Roman caught her say "stupid" under her breath. " _Anyway_ , she's a lot of fun."

"I'm glad she's made such nice friends. It's hard for her to communicate with others, so I hope you be patient with her and continue to be her friend." Roman scratched his neck. Off to the side, Yang cocked an eyebrow before strolling over to him and punching him in the shoulder.

"Relax. I get it. We both got to watch out for our family. Don't worry, she's in good hands with Ruby. She's not patient—"

"Hey!" Ruby protested.

"But she'll never stop being her friend. That's just the kind of stubborn, kick-butt sister she is," Yang said with a wink. Ruby's eyes seemed to be very interested in her feet as she scratched her cheek with one hand. Roman relaxed his shoulders, loosened the stance he'd been keeping up since the conversation started.

"I'll believe you on that," Roman answered, rubbing his arm. He looked down at Neo and from the way her eyes were narrowed, he knew they had the same thought.

' _Suckers.'_

Roman _knew_ exactly what type of person Ruby was. If Cinder were his reaper if he betrayed her, Ruby was his if he sided with the lunatic. Naturally, if he used one reaper to protect himself against the other, he had the best chance of surviving. Whether or not she was a good person or trustworthy person didn't matter. However, the type to never abandon her "friends" would be infinitely useful. Having Neo befriend Ruby had been the right move after all.

"I should get going," Roman said as he scratched his neck. "We have to get ready to sleep on the oh so lovely floor, after all."

They said their goodbyes and he departed from the group, smirking. If Weiss didn't pan out he had Yang. Given that this was the older sister of the girl with enough potential to be the demise of him over and over again, he could only assume her to be stron—

Roman's thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into a boy in tan armor.

"Hey," the boy said, sounding not at all surprised or bothered. Roman waited for the eventual "What do you think you're doing?", but it never came. He did note, however, the boy's stance. He'd seen enough goons in his day to tell the trash from the cream of the crop, and he'd found himself a winner.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," Roman said, playing it meek. The boy just stared at him silently in a way that reminded him very much of Neo and walked off. Roman stood there staring at him, trying to figure the best way to possibly hire him.

"That's Dove Bronzewing. He comes from a highly esteemed family," a voice next to him said. He turned to see a young faunus with large, round glasses and floppy ears. The faunus spat before continuing, "Or he used to be. Police found a trail of black market dealings that lead right to his family. He's the only one who didn't get convicted. Probably because Ozpin had already received his application and we need Huntsmen. Either way, I'd stay away from him if I were you, boss."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "And who are you, Four-Ears? More importantly, what makes you think I give a damn about his life?"

"Perry," the faunus answered cheerily. "And I've been on a roll telling everybody about the evil 'Dove Bronzewing'. Anybody that close to Cardin Winchester can't be good. Think of it as proxy-hatred resulting in a fun afternoon of rightful defamation. Or, well, I'm not _lying_ so would that count as defamation, boss?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never been accused of it," Roman answered. Perry laughed, his body shaking as high pitched, annoying squeaks ran out of his body and stabbed Roman in the eardrums.

"Good one, boss!" Perry replied.

"And another thing, why are you calling me 'boss'? I don't remember hiring you," Roman asked. "Not that I mind at all."

Perry grinned.

"I'm a faunus. You're a human, boss. And _every_ human likes that little extra stroke of the ego. Keeps them off my back," Perry explained. "I know my place in the world, boss."

"That would put you in the minority," Roman said. "Now, don't you have somebody else to bother?"

Perry laughed that same squeaking, ear-assaulting awful laugh that made Roman want to stab somebody if only to make them feel a fraction of the pain he was enduring. But he held back. Oh, it was hard, so very hard to hold back, but he held back. After all, Ozpin was no doubt watching. Roman needed to play the good student if he wanted to be in the safest place from Cinder available.

"You're right, boss! See ya in initiation, boss!" Perry said as he ran off to follow after Dove and tell bad stories about him. Roman sighed.

' _If it weren't for his laugh, I could almost respect him a little. Spite is an excellent motivator.'_

Before he left to follow the crowd to the dorms to get ready for bed, he caught something interesting out of the corner of his eye. A girl with black hair and a bow, watching the back of the Perry kid he'd spoken to earlier. When he looked at her, she stared back at him for a moment before returning her attention to watching Perry.

' _A lover? No, a rival? Or perhaps an enemy? She might be a good deterrent next time that awful laughing brat comes around,'_ Roman noted to himself before finally moving to the crowd. No use dawdling.

* * *

The songbirds had stopped singing. Only the wind sang as it ruffled the leaves and tousled branches as it blew through the forest. The small amount of sunlight that trickled through the leaves like droplets of water on a parched tongue glinted off a blade, red with blood. Roman looked down at his crimson-stained hands, and at the long blade protruding from his chest.

He tried to call out, tried to scream, tried to curse his murderer, but no words came out. Blood filled his mouth and he could nothing but spit it out onto the grass. In the distance, he heard a Grimm roar.

The blade retracted from his chest and he was kicked to the ground. He tried to turn as he fell, but—

There was nobody there.

Roman fell hard on his side, but he felt nothing. Whether it was the adrenaline or the fact that he was going into shock, he didn't know. Roman had never bothered to study medicine. His murderer didn't stab him again, didn't call him names or berate him, and didn't even show themself. Roman didn't even know if they were still there.

The roar of the Grimm drew closer, no doubt attracted to the negative emotions in the area. Roman tried to think happy thoughts, tried to think about being rescued, but he couldn't. He was too cynical to actually believe this could turn out happily. His murderer no doubt knew that.

Roman moved his arms and pushed himself up, but he was kicked right back down into the ground. This time, he felt it. Roman bit his lip until it bled to stop from crying out. Time, he needed time. Time to be rescued by somebody, anybody.

He heard the Grimm cry out as gunfire resounded in the distance. Somebody was on their way.

Briefly, Roman felt hopeful.

Then his murderer clicked their tongue and decapitated him.

* * *

Roman's eyes snapped open.

He was in the ballroom and one of the first to awaken amongst a sea of sleeping bags. His neck burned, his back hurt, and he had to force himself to stop hyperventilating so nobody would notice. Twitching, Roman spat out red saliva onto his sleeping pillow. Once he got his breathing under his control, a single word rolled out his mouth.

"Fuck."

* * *

 **A/N:** Roman's facing his first death in Beacon, though it will certainly not be his last.

A few familiar faces here. I _am_ doing shorter chapters than usual for this series, but a lot gets accomplished in these chapters even if there's not a lot of forward progression. Does that make sense? Also, Jaune has yet to appear. No reason why, really. He's just not that important right now. And yes, I do know what the teams will be. They'll be… a little odd.

Was gonna save this story until I had three chapters done, but I like these two and wanted some feedback before going forward.

 **Question of the Chapter:** Thoughts on who this killer might be?


	3. Aerially assaulted

**Chapter 2: Aerially assaulted**

 **A/N: Changed chapter numbers to reflect the prologue not being numbered.**

* * *

 _He remembered a death._

 _Winds whipping around him, dark monsters swarming the night skies._

 _He remembered the monster that came from behind, the creature that devoured him in the middle of his victory speech._

 _But most of all, he remembered_ her.

 _The girl in red._

 _Shock, surprise, those emotions he had expected. He felt them too._

 _But he never expected the sadness and horror in her eyes when there should have been joy and relief. He was her enemy and had brought so much bad into the world that it only seemed natural to him for her to relish in her victory. He knew he would have._

 _The girl in red was too kind._

 _Kindness was supposed to get you killed._

 _Then why was he the one who died?_

* * *

Of course Weiss had noticed Pyrrha Nikos.

She'd be a fool to not notice one of the most famous first years to enter Beacon. As Weiss herself was another such person, it only made sense for them to stick together. It most certainly had nothing to do with Pyrrha being undefeated and powerful. Definitely not. Weiss just knew her abilities were great and the last thing she wanted was for them to be wasted by an awful team. She had to prove that Father was wrong, that Winter was right to believe in her, and that she had what it took to be her own person. She couldn't afford any missteps.

The morning after the opening ceremony, Weiss had woken up earlier than most of the others and, after doing a warmup in the courtyard, cleaned herself up in the dorms. As she made her way out of the front doors of the huge dorm building, Weiss smirked. She'd ambush Pyrrha at the lockers and recruit her before anybody else.

Or at least that was the plan until she saw Jack out in the courtyard, walking from the direction of the dorms to the locker rooms. Weiss balled her hands into fists and ran after him. She remembered what he said the other day, about how he only wanted the best on his team.

Not to mention the insults he'd left her with. Who in their right mind would go up to somebody and insult them _and_ try to recruit them? If he hated her family, then he wouldn't want to recruit her. If he wanted her money, then he wouldn't insult her. Jack Candlestick, she determined, was a paradox. All the "friends" of her father who tried to manipulate her came up to her with honeyed words and fake smiles. _He_ mocked her to her face. Who was he?

She wouldn't let that jerk get to Pyrrha first!

The thought that he was simply an asshole never occurred to her. After all, where she was from, nothing was that simple.

* * *

Something had gone terribly wrong. For two months, Roman Torchwick had dreamed of dying nice and old in a hospital bed. He hadn't made any mistakes. He'd gone and tried to do everything the future him would have done.

Which meant he must have made a mistake yesterday. This had happened before he applied to Beacon, back when he was first testing the power. Knowledge about the future changed the future. He would react differently with more knowledge, so consistent dreams were impossible. Even his jolly old hospital dream had the faces of the strangers surrounding him being different every time, but nothing too major. Not until now.

"Hey!"

He'd already considered his options. Running away would be impossible. Ozpin would never let him leave. Since his interactions with the various staff in his two months at Beacon changed very little, the killer wasn't a staff member. Which meant they'd snuck in with the students. Only his interactions with the students could have changed it. Was one of them a spy for Cinder? Were any of them assassins? Was his killer a student or an outside agent? And, more importantly, where the hell was he when he died?

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

He couldn't afford to be careless. He could have died in the initiation. So, to prepare for that, he'd made sure to sneak into the dorms early and steal—

"Are you deaf _and_ an idiot?!" A voice screamed behind him as he was yanked back, his train of thought broken. He turned to see a very upset Weiss Schnee with one her hands on her hips. Roman took his hand away from his neck, realizing he'd been scratching it unconsciously.

"You're supposed to listen when people talk to you! Haven't your parents taught you anything?!" She yelled. He smiled sweetly.

"What parents?" He asked. Her rage drained out of her face and left her paler than her hair. The heiress of the most infamous and powerful company in the world found herself looking at the ground in shame.

"I… apologize. I didn't—" Then she reignited and grabbed her head. "Agh, what am I saying?! You're a jerk! I shouldn't be feeling sorry for you!" She pointed at him. He shrugged her words off, a smile playing across his lips.

"I'm not asking for pity anyway, princess. Although that reaction was much more interesting than yesterday. What do you want?" He asked. Weiss crossed her arms and harrumphed.

"I know your plan." Roman forced himself to not flinch. "You got up extra early, _like me_ , to go and recruit Pyrrha Nikos! You said you were scouting, so it only makes sense. You recruit Pyrrha and then use _her_ to incentivize _me_ to join _you_! I've seen through you, Jack!" Weiss exclaimed, now pointing at him, again, dramatically. Roman sighed in relief and relaxed his shoulders. She didn't know his plan at all. It looked like the princess was more careless than he expected.

"I _actively_ dislike Pyrrha Nikos, princess," Roman answered. Weiss only grew more smug.

"You can't fool me. I know for a fact that you know for a fact that Pyrrha Nikos graduated top of her class at Sanctum _and_ won the Mistral regional tournaments four years in a row. She _is_ the best trained and well-equipped here. Don't play dumb with me," Weiss accused, her word vomit hitting Roman right in the ear. He winced and scratched his neck.

During the two months he was trapped in Beacon while he waited for classes to start, he'd been allowed limited, and monitored, access to the Internet. He'd never been one to care for tournaments or fighters, but, with little else to _legally_ do, he'd found himself watching a lot of fights. He even had an ongoing bet with one of the guards in Beacon Tower on who would place second in Mistral regionals next year.

"Sounds like _you're_ certainly a fan," Roman replied. "But if you'd done your research, you'd know that her fights were won by her opponents _consistently_ making mistakes they didn't make in any other fights."

' _I bet against her every time! I lost at least 10,000 lien because of her! At least!'_

"So what? They must have been intimidated," Weiss asserted. Roman shook his head.

"Take it from a princess to not have any street-smarts. Allow me to hammer this into your little one hundred million lien head. What I'm saying is that she _obviously_ payed off the competition," Roman explained.

' _If I see this Nikos brat again, I'm going to make her pay me for all the bets she made me lose! She_ had _to have cheated! Nobody is that good!'_

"It could have been a Semblance instead," Weiss countered with a confident smile. Roman looked down at her and scoffed.

"Like what? Bad luck? Would you _really_ want somebody with a Semblance like that on your team? Is the cold princess really a masochist?" Roman asked, smirking. Weiss' face flushed red and, for a moment, she couldn't say anything at all and just stared at him, jaw dropped wide open. Being isolated like she was, it would only make sense she had little experience in _this_ area. Roman took note of this weakness for future reference.

"I-I am _not_! Her Semblance could be something else! She could be incredibly valuable!" Weiss yelled. Roman cringed back, holding his ear.

"Watch your volume, princess. Some people actually need their hearing," Roman said. "Rather than focusing on who _could_ be valuable, I have a team in mind or people who _are_ valuable, princess. She's not on it, but you are. If you like her so much, then you should feel honored I chose you over her.."

"You need your hearing?! I told you that I _don't_ want to be on your team! What's your problem with me anyway?!" Weiss shouted. Again, Roman cringed back, still rubbing his ears, but then took a step forward.

"If I need a hearing aid by the end of the day, I'm sending you my bill!" Roman yelled. Then, twitching slightly, he added through grit teeth, " _You_ were the one who approached me this morning, remember? The only problem I have with you is that you have talent and you aren't on my team." Roman consciously raised his eyebrows as if he just had an epiphany. "Oh, I know. This is about money, isn't it? Don't worry, princess. If I wanted your money, then having you on my team would be idiotic." Roman winked. "I'd just seduce you instead."

The moment those words left his mouth, Weiss slapped him across the cheek, the clap from it ringing out into the courtyard. She stormed off after that, glancing back angrily once or twice to make sure he didn't follow her. Roman rubbed his cheek, the fake shock on his face twisting into a smirk.

' _She definitely won't forget me after that. I can work hard too, Neo. I even let her slap me. I'll make sure I get my investment paid back in full.'_

* * *

In the locker room, Roman kept a careful eye on all the people who passed through and grabbed their weapons. He already had Melodic Cudgel by his side, leaning against the grey wall with him.

Weiss had long since grabbed her weapon and gone. She didn't bother sticking around for Pyrrha Nikos. With all that had been going on, she'd most likely forgotten about her original goal in the first place. Although she _did_ use a rapier, she seemed incredibly unlikely to be his killer. The blade that went through his chest was much thicker than the pinpoint her weapon came to. And he doubted even Beacon could protect him for two months if he managed to properly piss off the Schnee Dust Company.

The famous redhead, Pyrrha Nikos, however, got along well with a blond boy and _both_ of them had swords. The scrawny blond also kept nervously glancing his way, and Roman had been through enough deaths and near-deaths to know that that was never a good sign. Roman marked him down on his shit list of suspects. Along with Nikos. Damn her. She had to be hiding _something_. He'd make her cough up the money she owed him as soon as the cameras stopped watching him.

"Scouting out the competition, boss? I can get behind that," Perry said, disrupting his mental rant. The faunus was leaning against the wall right next him, arms crossed. "The blond one looks weak, but I wouldn't mess with that chick in the armor, boss. That's—"

"I _know_ ," Roman interrupted. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the black-haired girl from before, still staring at the pair of them as she took her _sword_ (added to shit list) from her locker. "Am I your favorite human or something? Isn't there a tree you should be pissing on?"

"Good one, boss," Perry said, his annoying laugh starting to rise out his throat before, thankfully, dying down. "You're honest. I like that." Roman cocked an eyebrow.

"I just _insulted_ you. What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked. Perry folded his arms behind his head.

"Cardin Winchester teases and beats faunus for being 'freaks'. Most of the other applicants here try not to look us in the eye or even talk to us," Perry explained. He looked at Roman and grinned. "You're different. At least _you're_ funny." Roman rolled his eyes.

" _Fine_. Just shut up. I almost missed one," Roman replied. Off in one of the corners of the locker room, Dove Bronzewing silently took his sword out of his locker. Damn that talkative faunus. He didn't even see the tan-armored fighter enter. That was another one for the shit list. How many people in this place used _swords_ of all things? Granted, Neo's umbrella also hid a sword, but it was _primarily_ an umbrella and some sort of originality behind it.

"I can see you're appreciating the weapons, boss," Perry chimed in. He brought up a machine gun by his side. "This one is mine. Good 'Ol Tommy. Doesn't transform into anything, but the firing rate on this bad boy can tear a Grimm to shreds in 1.2 seconds."

' _Not a sword at least,'_ Roman noted. He had four possible suspects, barring the extremely unlikely Weiss Schnee, for people inside the school operating as assassins. However, there could assassins from outside the school who could infiltrate the initiation. Roman had to keep his guard up.

"I don't care for your weapon or for you," Roman said absentmindedly. That annoying laugh rang out beside him, and Roman sincerely wished he could just stab the noisy animal and be done with it. The faunus' laugh sounded like he was dying anyway. It would be a mercy killing.

At this point, Ruby, Neo, and Yang entered the locker room, chatting away about weapons and stupid stories that hardly registered in Roman's mind. Neo's eyes met with his and the two of them nodded. He'd already made sure to send her a message with his hidden Scroll earlier. She'd be making sure to check the rest of the people's weapons. He'd been dawdling too long. If his killer suspected that he knew they were here, his death would be that much harder to avoid.

No matter what, he needed to be attacked while in the forest. It was incredibly stupid, but Roman Torchwick had a plan.

* * *

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin stated, the applying students gathered before him and standing on large grey launchpads on the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest. Roman reached into his pocket and began to message Neo's Scroll without looking. Messaging backup without appearing to be doing anything had always been a key talent of his.

To his left was Perry, the faunus grinning at him as he listened to the headmaster's speech. On his right was Neo, who stood next to Ruby. Beyond her was Yang, followed by the blond boy and Nikos. On the far left, several people down, were Dove and the black-haired girl. It didn't take a genius to realize he was surrounded by potential killers. Oh, and Weiss was a few people to the left. He caught her glaring at him once and smiled back at her. She didn't like that one bit.

' _So… this is the forest where I died,'_ Roman thought, confirming his suspicions. Whether he'd died in the initiation or in a far off mission in the future, this seemed the most likely place for it to have happened.

Glynda and Ozpin went on to explain that they'd be given teammates _today_ and that the first person they made eye contact with after landing would be their partner for the rest of their time in Beacon. Roman sent another message to Neo.

"You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die," Ozpin said.

Roman smirked.

' _And I don't plan on dying today.'_

* * *

The winding whipping through her hair that shined red in the sunlight, Ruby flew through the vast, blue sky.

Well, to be exact, she was falling.

 _With style_.

After explaining that they had to retrieve some items from a temple and return to the cliff with them, Mr. Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch had launched them into the air with the launchpads they'd been standing on. Now it was up to them to fall and not die... And Ruby was super ready for this! Way better than a written test!

And to think she'd been nervous!

With Crescent Rose by her side, Ruby fired shot after shot, propelling herself through the air before turning to fire the shots in front of her to slow her descent. Just as she was readying her weapon to swing around on a tree branch and stop her fall completely, she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

"Get out of my way!" Jack screamed as he swung right at her from a long cord jutting out from his cane.

Ruby's eyes opened wide and she opened her mouth to say something, but she was too late. Jack collided with her in midair and the two tumbled down to the grass below.

* * *

Weiss landed on her glyphs, running into the forest before stopping, the trees above shading her. The heiress smiled and sheathed her sword. All she had to do now was avoid Jack and find somebody _capable_ and she'd be set. Weiss took in her surroundings. Grass and rocks covered in moss, tree trunks older than she could imagine surrounding her. Back home, everything was all ice and snow. Here, she was surrounded by life.

This was her new life as a Huntress would finally start.

A few bushes up ahead shook, and Weiss immediately went on guard with her sword aimed for a thrust the moment whatever was ahead emerged. She was ready. However, instead of a Grimm, a small girl dressed in black emerged with an umbrella in her hands. The girl smiled and skipped forwards, holding out her Scroll in front of her.

{I'm Nilla! I can't talk, but I know we'll be great partners!}

Weiss sighed in relief at the fact that, fortunately, she was _not_ stuck with Jack. More importantly, this girl seemed polite, kind, and, given that she was small and mute and _still_ passed the application test, strong. Weiss could give her a chance.

Things were looking up for Weiss Schnee.

"I'm Weiss Schnee. You probably already recognize my last name, so I'll skip that part. I look forward to working with you," Weiss replied with a polite smile. If she'd been paying attention, she might have seen the disgust on Nilla's face.

* * *

"Yahoo!"

Ember Celica propelled Yang through the air, the wind flowing through her long, blond hair and hitting and breaking around her aviators. She shouted out in joy before sticking her arm out and grabbing a tree, twisting down it like a fireman's pole before reaching the ground and continuing into a run.

"Help! Help me, please!" She heard a girl scream up ahead, followed by the loud roar of a Grimm. A confident smile rose to her lips as she dashed through the forest, jumping off tree branches and stones while her shot gauntlets propelled her faster and faster until she appeared on the scene. Her fist instantly tore through the Grimm with her momentum alone. She didn't even have enough time to see what type it was before the black ichor was splattered all over the tree ahead of her.

She looked at the awestruck person who was laying on the ground, a stain in the crotchal region of their pants.

"Holy shit, you just annihilated that big Ursa. I-I'm Russel Thrush! Nice to meet you, partner!" The mohawked boy on the ground shouted before scrambling to his feet. He extended one hand out while the other barely covered his wet crotch. Aside from the mohawk, the boy unfashionable sported a spiked pauldron on one shoulder and a pair of knives hung loosely at his sides. Yang looked at him with crossed arms and smirked.

"And here I thought it was a girl screaming," she said.

On that day, Russel Thrush's very limited self-esteem died. It would stay dead for a very long time.

* * *

"Looks like all landed safely," Ozpin said, staring at the array of camera feeds on his large Scroll. He stood atop the cliff with Glynda, watching over all the students who had just been catapulted into the forest below.

"The partners this time are certainly unexpected," Glynda noted, staring at her own Scroll. "To think Roman would end up with Qrow's niece." Glynda clicked her tongue. "He won't like that."

"That's only if Roman passes initiation," Ozpin replied. "And if he does, it will only be after he proves he has the will to reform. He's lost everything, including his most loyal follower. The lesson he should have taken from that is that the destructive behavior he exhibits is in fact _self-_ destructive. Roman Torchwick needs to change."

"And what of this Nilla Stracolate? She seems close to him," Glynda asked. Ozpin sighed.

"Her application is clean and she did phenomenal in the application exam. Furthermore, her name is in Vale's registry. She's a resident. An orphan, but a resident. It's likely she's the one non-criminal acquaintance he has," Ozpin explained. "I believe she is the key to Roman's rehabilitation."

"What if you're wrong?" Glynda asked. Ozpin smiled, but his eyes were distant, sad and heavy in a way that only those close to him could see.

"Then Roman will most likely never change. And he'll self-destruct again and again and again. But, unlike this time, nobody will be there to save him."

* * *

"Oh, you're Nilla's cousin, right? I guess you and me are partners! I don't much about you, Jack, but I look forward to fighting with you!"

"Red."

"Oh, and if you're worried about me being a little bit younger, then don't be! I can move really fast and Crescent Rose is an amazing custom weapon that slices through Grimm like a hot knife through soggy butter and there's no way I'll ever be in the way when—"

"Red."

"—I have _so_ much experience and training. Did I ever tell you my parents were Huntsmen? They totally were and they were part of this kick butt team and so my dad has all this training and knowledge and my mom did too, before she… Anyway, nevermind about all that I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad to make your formal acquaintance and I hope we can be good friends from now on!"

"If you're quite finished, Red, would you kindly _get off of me_!" Roman shouted. Ruby was straddling him and yelling into his face _after_ Weiss already yelled into his face earlier that morning. He'd never felt more sorry for his ears.

"Oh, right, sorry!" Ruby scrambled off him, hitting him in the cheek with her knee in the process. "Sorry for that too!" She added before standing up and extending a hand to him. He clicked his tongue and pushed himself to his feet, leaving her hand dangling.

"You _really_ need to get better at listening and worse at talking, Red," Roman said as he dusted off his suit.

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Ruby said before forcing a laugh. "Also, my name is Ruby. Not Red. Similar colors, but just a _bit_ different." She said, her fingers open slight enough to show the minute difference.

' _Shit. I got too caught up in the moment. That's what my future self always called her,'_ Roman thought as he straightened his hat.

"I know. Think of it as a… nickname," Roman explained. Ruby's eyes lit up with blinding joy.

"A nickname! That's what friends call each other, right? I didn't know we were already friends! Yang was totally right! This is easy!" Ruby said, fist-pumping. Then, she paused and her mouth opened in realization. "I need a nickname for you too! How about… Jackie? Ayyy, Jackie!" She said, doing finger guns at him and winking. Roman stared at her, partially in confusion and partially in disbelief. "No? That one not do it for you? Sport or Buster work for you? Oh! Oh! I got it! How about—"

"We start moving before your shouting attracts _even more_ Grimm?' Roman interrupted pointing Melodic Cudgel at the ring of Beowolves surrounding them. The Grimm roared before charging at them.

"O-Of course!" Ruby said, pulling out Crescent Rose and unfolding it into its scythe form. "Watch this!"

Her form became a blur and she dashed through the circle of Grimm, decapitating two Beowolves with a single slice and stopping several feet outside of the circle before blurring into action once more, slicing through more and more Beowolves with every dash.

Roman, meanwhile, lifted up Melodic Cudgel and beat the first Grimm to reach him over the head with it before going low and sweeping the Grimm's legs out from under it. With a twisted grin, he stomped its mask and crushed its head underfoot. The next Beowolf to reach him met a similar fate as he jammed Melodic Cudgel in its still roaring mouth and fired a firework shot through its skull to hit a third Beowolf that exploded on impact. Then, twirling his cane around, he hit a fourth Beowolf coming from behind in the snout before bouncing it off from the impact and, turning around, hitting it three more times in the side of the head. With the beast stunned, Roman shot the end of his cane off past the Grimm's head to try to hook and pull another Beowolf forward to slam with the one he was fighting.

Unfortunately, Ruby at the moment sped right into the path of his grapple and he hooked her hood, causing her to suddenly twist and crash as the momentum sent Roman flying towards the Grimm he'd been trying to hook. Noticing his sudden loss of control over his movements, the Grimm leapt at him, claws outstretched. Scowling, Roman righted himself in the air and fired a whistling firework shot at it, blowing off its head. The force of the resulting explosive blast sent him backwards, his back now facing the back of the Grimm he stunned earlier. Sighing, Roman turned around and blasted it in the back of the head.

"Red, watch where you're going next time! I could have died there!" He yelled at the downed girl. Ruby, face down in the dirt, gave a muffled apology before standing to her feet and readying Crescent Rose once more only to realize Roman had just finished off the last of the pack of Beowolves.

Shuffling towards Roman with her head down, Ruby said, "Sorry. I'm really not giving a good impression, am I?"

Roman pinched his nose and sighed. This was the girl who had lead to his death, whether directly or indirectly, every time he sided with Cinder. And now, when he chose to be on her side, she almost killed him again!

' _Calm, calm. Deep breaths, Roman. She doesn't use a sword. She's currently one of the safest people to be around. Safe. Ha. What about her is safe?!'_ Roman bit the inside of his lip to try to calm himself down. It barely worked.

"I _know_ you are strong. Trust me on that, Red.," Roman said, his form towering over Ruby. "But _I_ want to survive today and I'll need your help for that. Not whatever the hell that was back there."

"So, how exactly do you know I'm strong? No offense, but we kinda, um, never met before yesterday." Ruby asked. Roman paused.

' _Shit.'_

"It's my Semblance," Roman lied. It was easy enough to make _that_ seem true. "Anyway, stop trying so hard to impress. I see your value, Red. Got it?"

Silently, Ruby nodded.

"You're, um, very different from when I first met you," Ruby said, intent on not making direct eye contact with him. Roman sighed again. He couldn't help but think he'd be doing that a lot around this girl.

"And so are you," he countered. He took off his bowler hat and ran a hand through his dyed brown hair. "I get that you're still a kid, Red, but there's no profession out there with a higher death rate than being a Huntsman. So, just do me a favor here. Stick close to me, listen to me, and keep your volume _down_. I don't plan on dying today and I'm sure you don't either."

' _If I'm to survive Cinder, then I'll need you to survive and get stronger too, Red. You're my little cheat code, Red. You'll get me past that boss.'_

"Y-Yes!" Ruby exclaimed, putting a hand to her head in a salute. Roman cocked an eyebrow and she immediately covered her mouth and muttered an apology.

"Now, we have a temple to find and an artifact to snatch. Assuming everybody else in this initiation is causing a huge noise and fighting like the muscle brained idiots they are, we should be able to easily reach it if we keep calm and quiet," Roman said steadily. "Sneaking through this forest will be a breeze, Red. It's pointless to fight more than we have to. With your speed, we should be able to easily run away from most fights too. We move quick, we leave quicker."

"Um, run away?" Ruby asked. "But aren't we trying to be Huntsmen? Shouldn't we be fighting the Grimm? I thought you said—"

For the third time, Roman sighed. "We're in a relatively controlled environment where _nobody_ is in danger. What do we gain in fighting everything we come across? We just waste our Aura and stamina." He put a finger underneath her chin and lifted her head up, ensuring eye contact with him. "You can't kill all the Grimm, Red. Don't you think the instructors know that? A Huntsman that fights everything that moves will either die young or be too slow to save anyone."

Ruby pushed him away and shook her head.

"B-But we're going to be heroes! Are we just supposed to _ignore_ evil?" She argued. Roman laughed.

"Why not? Heroes do it all the time. The one's that are still alive, at least," Roman countered. "And as much as I would _love_ to discuss ethics with you, I don't plan on sticking around and attracting anymore Grimm. How about you just _try_ things my way? You might like it."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, and closed her mouth.

"I'll try to be sneaky, but if any Grimm attack us…" A fire shined in her eyes. "I won't run away."

Roman clicked his tongue.

' _Stupid hero-types are all the same. Self-sacrificial and suicidal. How the hell did I lose to her?'_

And the two of them stuck to the shadows of the trees, making it through the forest.

Standing on a tree branch above them, a face hidden in shadow smiled... with a blade in its hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** Now you should start to be getting an idea as to what the teams will be. Added a cover image that I made myself. Not very flashy, but it does the job.

A few side notes and clarifications.

There will be three teams formed that play into the story much like CRDL, RWBY, JNPR did.

I enjoyed your guys' guesses. I won't say if anybody has guessed correctly yet, but there have been clues as to who the killer is.

Roman experiences the pain of the deaths he sees. This is not shown in the prologue. Roman specifies the last vision he had, the one used as the introduction, was from the previous night. Some people might have missed that.

Thank you all for reading.

 **Question of the Chapter:** If you were to partner up with a character from RWBY, who would it be?


	4. Reversed

**Chapter 3: Reversed**

* * *

 _He remembered the first time Cinder had burned him to death._

 _He'd been so scared, in so much pain. Unable to breath, he'd struggled and thrashed about like a fish out of water before dying miserably. For the whole day after that, the very sight of fire caused him to seize up unconsciously. Neo had to be there to help him through the panic attacks. She charged extra for it._

 _But then Cinder burned him a second time._

 _And a third._

 _And a fourth._

 _Eventually, he stopped fearing it._

 _Compared to all the other ways he'd die, burning was one of the tamest._

 _He almost began to like the flames._

* * *

"And after all of that, you just wouldn't believe what he said to me!' Weiss ranted as she thrust Myrtenaster through the head of a Grimm. Behind her, Nilla danced through Grimm, decapitating each of them with the sword she'd pulled from her umbrella. Weiss stabbed her rapier into the ground and an ice formation sprang up in front of her and stabbed through the Ursa charging at her. She turned around to see Nilla resting on the ground and cleaning the black ichor off her umbrella with a handkerchief. "'I'd just seduce you'. It's so revolting! Doesn't he have _any_ sense of decency?! Who does he think I am?!"

Nilla tilted her head in confusion and then typed something on her Scroll.

{Who is this again?} She asked. {I'm sorry, but you've been yelling about him since the fight started.}

Realizing this, Weiss gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Jack Candlestick. Tall guy, very arrogant, needs to be knocked down a peg. Wears a stupid hat."

Nilla's eyes widened.

{That's my cousin!} Nilla stood to her feet, her unclean umbrella in her hands. {I'm sorry he was so rude to you!} She bowed her head in apology as she held out her Scroll with one hand.

Weiss took a step back, unsure of how to reply. Nilla had shown herself to be more than capable and, even though Weiss didn't know what the small girl's Semblance was, she had to admit that Nilla had a very good chance of beating her in a one on one fight. She couldn't afford to let a partner with this much potential go, even if she _was_ Jack's cousin.

"What's his deal anyway? I've never seen somebody like him before," Weiss said, shaking her head. Nilla raised her head and typed on her Scroll.

{You don't get out much, do you?}

"Hey! I've been out _plenty_ of times! Father has taken me with him on more than a few business trips!" Weiss fired back. Nilla sighed.

{Even though we call each other cousins, Jack and I are from the streets. We don't have any family.} Nilla explained. The fire in Weiss' eyes cooled over.

"He… mentioned he didn't have any parents," Weiss admitted. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

With one hand, Nilla twirled her umbrella, a lonely smile passing over her face.

{The streets are very different from what you're used to. Recruiting people to any sort of cause requires you showing them what you're made of. Smarts and strength are respected. He probably was trying to control the flow of the conversation to show how good he was at it. It's… an old habit. We get in trouble a lot because of it.}

After Weiss finished reading the message, she took a few steps back, biting her lip. That explanation made sense. He was trying to test her for weaknesses and show that he could exploit them. It was his way of showing his skills to her. But…

"He's still a jerk," Weiss said, turning her head away. "That's why I _slapped_ him."

Nilla laughed, the light tones being the first prominent sound Weiss had heard the mute girl make. The joy in Nilla's eyes seemed off, strange in some way, and Weiss felt a shiver run down her spine.

 _{You **slapped** him?}_

Weiss coughed.

"We should, um, get going now." Weiss changed the topic with a forced smiled as she turned and walked away.

Nilla walked silently behind her.

* * *

In the middle of the forest stood the ruins of a stone temple that very few knew the origin of. The forest stretched its grasp around the stonework, trying to reclaim the lost creation of beings long past. Losing that battle, the temple had fallen into the familiar decay of all things humans left behind. Open air and with none but that back wall remaining, the only thing notable about the temple were the many stone pillars arranged in a half circle in the center of it. On each pillar sat a sculpture of a chess piece. Half gold, half black.

"That was… easy?" Ruby half-asked, confused. They'd made it in record time. Even though she'd been a bit upset at Jack's approach to everything, Ruby had remained mostly calm. As a result, they hadn't had any more encounters with any Grimm. Jack smiled at her as he grabbed the golden 'King' piece from one of the pillars and shoved it inside his jacket.

"You could arrive here either half-dead or ready for a fight, Red," Jack said. "I think most would prefer the latter. Proving ourselves in combat is meaningless if we can't prove we're able to be smart about our approach."

He had a point. Ruby had to admit that much. But it all felt so… wrong. They were letting everybody else fight so they could sneak ahead. It was like they were cheating on a test, using somebody else's answers instead of their own.

"Now we just have to make it back, right?" Ruby asked. Jack was so cold and self-serving, yet at the same time it felt like he was one of the only people who knew her strength. What was his story? What made him think heroes ignored evil? And what was with that really cool weapon of his that shot fireworks? Ruby didn't know any of these answers, but he was her partner. If she didn't really know him, then it would be hard for them to work together. They needed to trust each other.

Jack nodded.

"But next time, we're doing things _my_ way," Ruby said. Jack balked, but she crossed her arms. "Try it. You might like it."

" _Your_ way is suicidal!" Jack scolded her. However, Ruby would not be shaken. She finally figured out what bothered her about his approach.

"If people always hide, then they never get stronger," Ruby stated. "They just get better at hiding."

Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"And what's wrong with that?" He asked. Ruby smiled gently as she began to take a step towards understanding Jack.

"If we don't get stronger, then we can't protect people from Grimm. We're going to be Huntsmen, Jack. Hunting's kinda in the name, dude," Ruby scratching the back of her head. Jack clicked his tongue and looked away from her.

"You have _no_ sense of self-preservation," Jack declared. Ruby shrugged. She obviously didn't want to die. Ruby remember her mother's death and how it shook her family to its core. How it broke all of them. She would never let that happen to her family again. At the same time, she came here to fight Grimm and save lives. A Grimm they killed early on could be prevented from going on to kill somebody innocent. If they could kill a Grimm, then they had to. It was the only way to prevent more pain.

If this wasn't just initiation and Ozpin didn't have control over the situation, she would have never agreed to Jack's plan.

"Maybe you could think about things in a different way? You keep thinking I'm going to lose or something. Your Semblance says I'm strong, Jack. Not everything is the worst possible thing. Don't assume so much," Ruby said. Grinning, she slapped him on the back. "Cheer up, buddy! We'll make a great team!"

"Ruby!" A voice suddenly from across the way. Turning her head, Ruby spotted Yang's smiling face at the edge of the clearing, a boy with a mohawk hung over her shoulder.

"Yang!" Ruby called back excitedly, waving.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, running towards her with her arms outstretched.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, running towards her beloved sister.

"Somebody help me! This chick's crazy!" The boy strung over Yang's shoulder cried. Ruby could hear Jack sigh impatiently behind her. He could wait a few minutes at least! They already made it to the goal!

Yang threw the boy to the side and pulled Ruby into a hug, which the younger sister returned. Reunited once again!

* * *

Watching the sisterly love display from afar, Roman made sure to note the dangling knives on the young boy's belt. They matched up with Neo's description. Too short to pierce him through the chest enough for him to get a good look at the blade. At the very least, if his assassin planned on making a move, it wouldn't be until he was alone. The instructors were guaranteed to be watching this place. The temple was the safest place for him.

He took a moment to think about his almost imminent death. The launchpads had sent people flying in an order from left to right. Which meant anybody who had been to his left had most likely landed before him. Nikos and the blond kid had been to his right, though that didn't mean they were necessarily in the clear. The other suspects had been to his left. He had to be cautious of them.

"Jack," Weiss' voice rang out behind him. He turned to see her and Neo on the other side of the stone pillars, near the black pieces. He glanced over at the black 'King' piece and Neo got the memo. While Weiss looked at him, Neo snuck around and grabbed the piece. It was easy to figure out that _this_ was how teams would be formed.

"Princess," Roman said back. If Neo had done her job correctly, then Weiss would then go on a little speech about how she was wrong about him and how, in reality, he must be a really nice but misunderstood tragic hero.

Weiss sighed. Then she smiled brightly.

"Your fashion sense is awful."

' _What.'_

"You're so old I mistook you for a teacher."

' _What is she saying right now.'_

"Your attempts at being charming are utterly and completely revolting. And your hat is ridiculous," Weiss finished, smirking confidently. Roman looked past her to see Neo with a hand over her mouth as if to stop herself from laughing aloud. Was this _her_ doing?! Was she attempting to sabotage his recruitment?!

Roman inwardly gasped. Neo wanted the extra bonus by forcing him to recruit Yang in Weiss' place! She always pulled this type of shit! Did the extra work just to make him pay her a little more! Sensing his stare, Neo whistled and ran off to join the Ruby and Yang's love hug by jumping face first into it. Off to the side, the boy from earlier seemed to want to join but only ended up pounding the ground with his fist for some reason.

"Ha, those are quite the _jokes_ there, princess," Roman replied with a forced smile. Weiss crossed her arms and he could feel her looking down at him from her newfound position of power.

"What's this now? Playing it off because you're no longer in control of the conversation? Hilarious. I'm just showing you what _I'm_ made of," Weiss explained. "You stupidly-dressed old man."

Roman snapped.

"You're made of a bitch and stick," Roman replied. "Shove the stick up the bitch's ass and leave it in the oven for seventeen years until it's nice and lonely. That's Weiss Schnee."

Her confident facade cracked.

"That hat makes you look like you're an old man," Weiss shot back. Roman laughed mirthlessly.

"My hat's a crown, doll."

"What are you? King of the Bargain Bin?"

Roman twitched in irritation.

"You _really_ need to get better at insults, princess. Or do you _want_ me to insult you more? Is that masochistic part of you showing again?"

"You talk a big game, but I bet you haven't even—"

"I have," Roman cut her off. That stopped Weiss in her tracks. She'd made a mistake by fighting him in an area he was more experienced in. Seeing the opening, Roman pressed the advantage. "And believe me when I tell you that my fashion and my natural youthfulness have resulted in me getting more than you ever have." He winked. Weiss was stuck staring at him, completely frozen.

"Could you two save the pillowtalk for later?" Yang suddenly interrupted, Ruby and Neo beside her. 'I think we have a problem here." Yang pointed at the edge of the clearing around the temple, at the trees that were shaking and falling. A couple ran out into the clearing, ahead of the falling trees.

Suddenly, a Grimm emerged from the sea of trees. Roman found himself staring at Pyrrha Nikos running from a giant scorpion, called by the "intimidating" name of Deathstalker, while carrying the blond boy from earlier bridal style in her arms. Looking closer, he noticed the blond was currently clinging to her and terrified. Oh, and he was screaming.

"Help us! Somebody save us!" The blond kid cried like a small girl.

"See?! I told you I wasn't the only one!" The boy Yang dragged with her suddenly shouted. Everyone turned to stare at him long enough for him to turn sheepish before returning to the matter at hand.

Nikos jumped and ducked under the swings of the Deathstalker with ease even though her hands were full. It was enough to actually impress Roman. But of course Nikos had to have some skill if she were to fake her way through a rigged tournament. All tournaments were obviously rigged. That was why his next bet was on who would place second next time around, after all.

Yang burst into action and fired her shot gauntlets behind her to speed towards the creature, punching it head on and sending a wave of force through the trees as she stopped the Grimm in its tracks. Ruby likewise ran forward, her scythe at her side. Roman glanced at Neo, who shrugged as if to say _, 'I think they have this handled.'_

Although Roman agreed with her, it wouldn't look good to just stand around in this instance.

"Nilla, Princess. Let's help that couple over there out, shall we?" He said before running at the giant scorpion. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I don't take orders from you. I'll help her because it's the right thing to do," Weiss said before following him. Nilla giggled and, shrugging again, followed after the two of them.

Finally able to set the blond kid down, Nikos drew her sword and shield. The blond kid likewise drew his sword and shield. Roman kept a wide berth around them and approached the right side of the Deathstalker. Ruby went flying towards him as the Deathstalker whipped its tail around and slapped her away. Meanwhile, Yang was punching the armored creature futilely before it thrust its stinger at her. She only just blocked in time and was sent crashing into the bushes.

If there was one thing about the Deathstalker that Roman knew, it was that its armor was a bitch to penetrate.

"Why the hell would you idiots even bring that thing here?!" Roman shouted as he caught Ruby in his arms.

"Hi," she said softly as her big, silver eyes looked up at him. He dropped her.

"Remember what I said about listening to me, Red? Don't just charge in without a plan, even if you _are_ suicidal," he scolded her as she picked herself up the ground. Rubbing her butt with one hand, she winced before pouting at him.

"It's not like we had a choice, man!" The blond boy yelled before getting whipped by the stinger and being sent flying into a tree.

"Jaune!" Nikos called out to him before turning her attention back on the immediate threat. Roman sighed. He was surrounded by children.

"Nilla, distract the beast. Ruby, while Nilla distracts it, angle yourself to line up with half of the beast's legs. You'll use your Speed to slice through the legs and cripple its movements. Princess, put that rapier to good use and stab it through the goddamn eye. I'll finish it off," Roman said, pointing at each of them in turn. Weiss and Ruby stood stunned. He clapped his hands together. "What are you waiting for? Get him."

Neo had already skipped ahead to the Grimm. Pyrrha backflipped away from one of the Grimm's swipes and landed in front the small girl, who simply patted her on the back and nodded her head in the direction Jaune had been sent flying.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Pyrrha asked, blocking a thrust from the Grimm's stinger with her tale. Neo laughed and nodded. With a concerned look on her face, Pyrrha ran off in the direction of Jaune, leaving Neo to face it alone.

Brandishing her umbrella, Neo smirked as the beast thrust its stinger at her. She stepped slightly to the right, letting it move past her head as she hit it with her umbrella. The stinger careened off to the left and Neo hit it with an overhead swing for her weapon, changing the trajectory of the attack towards the ground. The stinger buried itself in the ground, leaving a small crater as the Grimm ripped it free. The red eyes of the giant scorpion seemed to brighten and it swung one of its massive claws at her. The small girl dropped below the claw and hooked the inside of it with her umbrella and pulled it down. Freeing her sword from its umbrella-sheathe, she stabbed it through the Deathstalker's claw, fastening it to the ground. The Grimm roared as it stabbed its stinger at her, but Neo unfolded her umbrella and blocked it with ease. Peeking out from beneath the umbrella, Neo smiled at the Grimm.

At that moment, a streak of red flashed through the air, right past the Grimm's right side, and, in a flash, its legs dissipated into darkness. The Deathstalker fell and, just slightly past it, Ruby stood with her scythe raised, a grin on her face.

"Looks like you don't have a leg to stand on anymore!" Ruby laughed. Roman felt a small part of him die on the inside. This girl beat him countless time. _This_ girl.

"He still has half, you moron!" Roman couldn't help but shout.

However, the Grimm disregarded the taunt and took that moment to attack, redirecting its stinger towards her.

"Surprise attack! Fly like a thrush, Russel!" Yang yelled behind Roman suddenly. A blur of green flew past him and he turned to see Yang with her one arm and one leg forward, looking as if she'd just thrown something.

"Not again!" Russel cried as he flew through the air. Pulling himself into a fetal position to protect himself, he began to spin faster and faster until he collided with the Deathstalker's stinger right as it was about to strike Ruby. The hard impact knocked the stinger off course, causing it to embed itself in the grass much deeper than when Neo had hit it. Ruby gave Yang a thumbs up, who returned the gesture. Russel landed somewhere in a bush. He was probably fine.

At this moment, Roman glanced over, seeing Weiss with her sword in the ground. A line of glyphs appeared on the ground before her, leading her right to the Deathstalker. Raising her rapier, she cockily glanced over at Roman before dashing forward, almost as fast Ruby. A cloud of dirt and dust was kicked up behind her, right in Roman's face.

He'd remember this.

Off to the side, Nikos had recovered Jaune and was now running over with him. Roman smiled. The battle would be over before Nikos could try to claim any glory. Of course, he'd be willing to give her some credit. If she paid him the 10,000 lien he lost, of course.

Weiss' rapier buried itself deep in one of the scorpion's many eyes and she pulled it out, causing a spray of black ichor all over her pretty white dress and hair as the Grimm screamed in agony. She glanced back at Roman and the two of them had a whole conversation with their eyes alone.

' _You knew this would happen,'_ her eyes said.

' _Payback is a bitch,'_ his eyes replied.

Weiss jumped off the Deathstalker and now it was Roman's turn. He ran forward, glancing over at Neo who, now that her job was done, was now playing with a small butterfly off to the side and lazing about on the grass. The slightly blinded and immobile Deathstalker swung at him with its one claw as it tried desperately to free its stinger. He parried the claw with Melodic Cudgel, knocking it away and leaving the monster wide open. Roman put one foot on the Grimm's mask of a face and aimed the end of Melodic Cudgel right in the hole it used to call an eye.

A Deathstalker was heavily armored, that much was true. But Roman had fought tougher men, men that he shouldn't have been able to beat because they all made the same damn mistake: They forgot to cover their eyes.

Roman fired a firework shot right into Grimm through its eyes and the special shot exploded inside the Grimm; the armor contained the blast as the areas where the plates met flesh briefly flashed red. Smoke drifted out of the Grimm's eye before it collapsed into shadows that dissipated and diffused into the air.

"We did it!" Ruby shouted as she jumped for joy. Weiss grunted in acknowledgment as she sat near a tree and tried to wipe the black gunk off her face with a leaf. Neo laid in the grass and stared up at the sky, but still gave a half-hearted thumb up. Yang cheered as well, mirroring Ruby's enthusiasm. Jaune stared in bewilderment before cheering while Nikos applauded them (which pissed Roman off to no end). Russel was still probably fine.

Ruby ran over to him.

"See, Roman? Wasn't that much better than hiding?! I _told_ you not to assume so much! We won!" She shouted.

' _I don't assume so mu—… Wait.'_

Upon hearing those words again, something was sparked in Roman.

' _Maybe I have been assuming too much. Maybe I've been approaching this all wrong. Instead of just looking at weapons and who Cinder would send…'_

Roman's eyes widened in realization.

And then Neo suddenly sat up, her mouth moving but no words coming out as she pointed to the sky.

"Watch ooooooooooooooout!" A feminine voice from above cried.

A deafening screeched followed.

Roman looked up, his jaw dropping. Coming right at them was...

"You can't be serious. A damn Nevermore?!"

* * *

Things, unfortunately, don't always go as planned.

This was the thought the went through Roman's head as he flew through the air and deeper into the forest. Naturally, one could never plan for the idiocy of unknown factors and variables. For example, a girl riding a Nevermore that clutched a boy in its talons, obviously her partner, and crash landing it right into the temple. Who in the world could possibly have planned for that?

It made no goddamn sense!

Roman's back collided with a large stone finally, and the impact took away his breath. He fell to the ground, pain spiking across his body. He pushed himself to his feet and noticed, for the first time in the initiation, he was alone. The Nevermore's screech had scared away all the local wildlife. He took a few steps forward, rubbing his back. The Nevermore screeched again, this time sounding much more like a roar. He heard gunfire in the distance.

The songbirds had stopped singing.

Roman's heartbeat pounded in his chest, flooding his ears with the sound of his own pumping blood. His Aura was almost depleted from the crash and collision alone. One good hit and he'd be done for. Something familiar gripped him, a dark emotion in the pit of his stomach that made him want to fall to the ground.

So, he did just that.

* * *

They had been assigned a simple mission from up high.

Infiltrate the initiation, and kill Roman Torchwick.

They'd done their research, even were given additional information from up high. They knew about the bombing, how Torchwick had sacrificed innocent lives in an attempt to deal damage to his enemy. They knew Torchwick was the scum of society, the kind of trash that needed to be taken out. There was nothing good in him, nothing redeemable. He was street trash that pushed other people down so he could rise higher. A completely selfish human.

They watched from the trees. They'd been stuck with many bad jobs in the past, had even done things they'd regretted. This?

 _This was a reward._

So as they watched from the treeline and kept their distance, they couldn't help but smile. The White Fang still did good. They still made the world a better place. This mission was proof of it.

When the Nevermore crashed and scattered the initiates, _they_ were watching. They followed the path of Roman Torchwick, keeping to the treetops. They readied their weapon. They'd worked so hard to hide it in another weapon and sneak it in.

They watched Roman slam into the stone.

They watched him stumble to his feet.

They licked their lips in anticipation.

And then Roman suddenly fell forward, twisting his body so he landed on his back.

A blade suddenly appeared over his head.

Coming from absolutely nowhere, a boy in tan armor stood there.

Holding a sword.

 _They_ had considered this possibility. They sat back and watched, a twisted smile on their face.

* * *

Roman smiled up at Dove Bronzewing.

"I'd assumed one of Cinder's minions would get me. I hadn't considered any other motives," Roman said. Looking up at the surprised face of the silent boy, he leveled Melodic Cudgel at Dove's face and fired. The firework shot exploded on impact, sending the boy into the air. He turned invisible again, disappearing from his sight.

Roman smirked.

' _My killer doesn't work for Cinder. They had different motives.'_

 **"Every contact since I started working in Vale and all the information I have on that flaming bitch is right there. Is that a fair enough price?"**

 **"Or he used to be. Police found a trail of black market dealings that lead right to his family."**

' _Something had to have happened on the first day that changed my vision. Like my killer getting a close look at my face. Close enough to see through my disguise before initiation began. They'd hide their surprise at seeing me. They also had to be skilled enough to kill me in one strike.'_

 **Roman's thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into a boy in tan armor.**

 **"Hey," the boy said, sounding not at all surprised or bothered. Roman waited for the eventual "What do you think you're doing?", but it never came. He did note, however, the boy's stance. He'd seen enough goons in his day to tell the trash from the cream of the crop, and he'd found himself a winner.**

' _My killer had to be stealthy to get the drop on me.'_

 **Dove Bronzewing silently took his sword out of his locker. Damn that talkative faunus. He didn't even see the tan-armored fighter enter.**

' _And, if they wanted to get the drop on me, they had to be on my left in the launchpad lineup.'_

 **The launchpads had sent people flying in an order from left to right.**

 **On the far left, several people down, were Dove and the black-haired girl.**

Roman stood to his feet. He had no idea where Dove had disappeared, but it didn't matter. Dove would be cautious if he thought Roman could sense his approach. Roman had time. And, of course, he'd planned ahead.

He never saw his killer when he turned around. Even with a speed Semblance like Ruby's, he'd have seen some movement, felt some wind or even have dirt kicked up into his face. If it was an illusion, then his killer would have shown their face to him as he died. Cinder's little minions were cocky like that. They'd taunt him, mock him.

Which meant either his killer had somehow actually killed him from above, from the trees.

Or their Semblance made them invisible after attacking.

With both hands, Roman reached into his jacket pockets and smiled as he pulled out several small vials filled with red Dust. On those vials were the insignia of the Schnee Dust Company. Courtesy of the princess' luggage.

 **"You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."**

Roman cackled, a grin twisting onto his face as he threw the vials into the air. His approaching victory tore his expression into something past madness. Something past ecstasy. He moved to hide behind the stone he'd collided with earlier.

He had to admit it. Roman feared death with every fiber in his being. His life was the most important thing he owned, the one thing he'd never let be stolen by anybody else. He didn't know if Dove had done his research, but, if he had, the boy should have known a simple fact.

Roman was the one who did the stealing.

The vials of red Dust collided with the ground and exploded in blinding blaze, creating an instant forest fire that filled the area with smoke in seconds as it began to spread. Roman stood up from his cover and put Melodic Cudgel in front of him and laughed despite himself. He couldn't help it.

He hated and missed the flames.

"You're a fun one, Peeping Tom. You should really be putting that power of yours to better use," Roman called out. The smoke shifted unnaturally, forming a human shape. Roman smirked and fired Melodic Cudgel at the shape, hitting it in the chest and sending Dove sprawling as his invisibility failed and he became fully visible.

"Uh oh. It seems to me that your little peeping power won't work here," Roman mocked him. If they were invisible, make them visible. If they were in the trees, burn the trees down. Leave them nowhere to hide. "You seem to be new at using that power. Would you like to try again?"

Dove pushed himself to his feet, his once kempt light-brown hair now covered in sweat and strew about his face. His eyes were wide open in unabated rage as he snarled.

"You took everything from me!" Dove screamed. "My father! My purpose! I'll kill you!"

Roman shook his head and sighed.

"I take back what I said earlier. You're boring," Roman said. "I can't believe I let myself be killed by you."

Dove shouted at that, charging at Roman without caring to use his Semblance. He swung his blade in a wide arc, as if to decapitate Roman. The thief dodged underneath his swing, and came up with Melodic Cudgel to hit Dove in the chin with the butt of the cane before bouncing off the impact, twirling it around, and hitting Dove in the chest to send him sprawling a few feet away.

"You're too predictable, Peeps," Roman said as he crouched down and put his hand on the ground. The flames were now roaring around them, consuming the entire area around them as tree branches burned and trees collapsed. Sweat accumulated on Roman's forehead, but he didn't mind the heat. He wasn't on fire this time. He could survive this.

"Even though my Aura is so low and a single hit could end my life, you can't hit a damn thing. You must not have loved your family very much, Peeping Tom," Roman taunted. Dove roared as he went back into the fray, this time aiming for a thrust. His specialty.

Roman grabbed dirt off the ground and threw it up into Dove's eyes, causing the boy to miss Roman completely. The young warrior continued past him, and Roman stuck his foot out and tripped the boy. Dove fell face-first into the burning grass and screamed in pain as he entered the flames.

"Familial ties don't mean anything at all. They just make you stupid with rage," Roman said as he rose to his feet. Dove cried in agony as he rolled out of the fire, dousing the flames with the little unburnt earth left. Dove rose to his feet as well, his hair almost completely gone from the fire. The upper right half of his face was badly burned, enough to where Roman could swear he saw some bone peeking out from the flesh.

Then, to Roman's surprise, Dove threw his sword at Roman. The thief easily dodged the blade, watching it as it went past and prepared to taunt Dove again when the young warrior charged forward, weaponless, grabbed Roman by his neck and lifted him off the ground. Melodic Cudgel fell free of Roman's hands, landing in the dirt below him.

"You talk too much," Dove said through grit teeth. The pain had, oddly, given him back control over his emotions. Roman struggled to breathe as he was not only being choked, but the oxygen in the air also grew thinner from the flames. "I'm not the only person whose life you ruined, Roman Torchwick. You're a traitor to all of Vale. I'm just glad I'm the one who got to you first."

Roman gasped for air, tried to kick at Dove's hands and chest, but his blows had no effect. Dove was full on Aura and Roman had almost none. He had no place of leverage from which to make a strong attack. A single mistake was all to took for Roman to die.

He'd made that mistake. Just like Cinder always did, he'd toyed with Dove. Revelled in feeling superior over his opponent. If it had been Cinder standing in his place and Roman stood in Dove's place, he knew he would have lost by now. But unlike Roman, Dove had something that made him keep going even after being badly burnt. Roman fought for Roman. Dove fought for his family.

' _But people like that are just fools. The self-righteous. The 'just'. The kind.'_

Yet, in the burning forest, Roman was the one dying.

Alone.

If he died here, would another Roman somewhere else wake up? Was this the dream of just another Roman? If he could breath, he'd laugh. Pondering the meaning of death meant giving up.

Death had no meaning.

Neither did living in this shitty world.

But, damn it, he wanted one more day.

Roman spat in Dove's face, even as his throat and tongue were being dried out from the burning air. His vision swam, growing dim. Breathing became harder and harder. Dove began to laugh, low and deep with sickening joy, as he pressed his fingers deeper into Roman's neck. Roman reached a shaking hand into his jacket pocket, hoping to find just one vial of Dust he missed.

He found something else.

Roman pulled out the 'King' chess piece and shoved its crown into Dove's eye.

* * *

 _They_ ran.

They should have known.

He didn't care about collateral damage.

He only cared for himself.

Although they never planned to become a student, they knew they would have to if Dove failed here. They'd lose their only good chance to kill him. The forest fire would draw too much attention. They bit their cheek until it bled. There was always next time. Always another chance. They just had to take it.

They ran out of trees, jumped into an opening in the forest. No eyes would be on them. This much was safe. They ran through the opening, back into the trees and forest and far enough away from the fire to formulate another pla—

They were tackled to the ground. Taken by surprise. They tried to move, but a blade was pressed onto their throat. They looked up into those familiar golden eyes and that curtain of black hair hanging over them and frowned.

"Who are you?" They asked. "I don't think we've met before, boss," they lied. Lying was always their specialty.

"You can't fool me. We worked together for too long. I know it's you," Blake, their captor, answered. She tore off the wig, the glasses, and those fake, floppy ears. "Ilia."

Their… no, _her_ , skin turned orange.

Joy.

Here was somebody they could use.

* * *

Roman fell from Dove's grasp, coughing, as the boy reeled while holding his eye. The least armored part of the body never failed. It helped that this 'King' piece had a relatively sharp top. Roman picked Melodic Cudgel back up from the ground. The smoke was growing too thick. He couldn't properly catch his breath. He glanced behind himself. Dove had thrown his sword and, in the massive flames that surrounded them, Roman could not see it.

He aimed Melodic Cudgel at the Doves.

Since when were there three Doves?

He coughed out smoke and breathed in more.

The world was shaking, rocking beneath his feet.

He was light-headed.

Dove stumbled towards him, tripping over his own feet.

Roman would have laughed, but his head hurt. His chest hurt. His insides burned. Fire licked at his heels anxiously, begging for him to fall.

He raised Melodic Cudgel and aimed it toward the sky. There was only one of those, right?

And he fired.

He fell to his knees, stared up at the sky, and watched his firework shot burst in the air. Dove crawled towards him, shouting. But Roman heard nothing. The flames were too loud, Dove's voice too dry to be loud.

Roman's body shuddered with laughter. Or was it coughing?

He couldn't tell.

And then a wave of ice tore the flames asunder. Somebody wrapped an arm around him. Dove was dragged away. The smoke cleared. Ice conquered fire. Before he passed out, Roman had one thought.

' _I survived.'_

* * *

 **A/N:** So concludes the first mystery. But many more have arisen as well. The next chapter will be a short, extra chapter focused on Dove. The one after that will expand on the events that transpired while Roman fought Dove, feature Blake, and will reveal the teams and team names. I hope you all can look forward to it.

Shoutout to Bunny153539 and VFlame for guessing Perry and Ilia, respectively. Those were close, but not quite correct (althought Bunny figured out why Blake was watching Perry and guessed what Perry was). To those many of you who guess Blake, I apologize.

A friend of mine named Troper managed to guess it correctly. If you guessed it correctly but didn't leave a review, then pat yourself on the back, friends!

 **Question of the Chapter: If you were to be tasked with killing Roman Torchwick, how would you do it?**


	5. extra: A Number Drawn

**extra: A Number Drawn**

* * *

Every day was practice, every night was a secret.

This was the sort of life Dove Bronzewing had grown up in. Practice and drill, then watch as his father made deals in the shadows, sold goods to bandits and thieves for hefty sums. It was the family business, he'd been told. He'd inherit it one day, he'd been ordered. It was his destiny, he internalized.

He remembered his father's estate in Vale, his meetings with the Winchester family and the deals that had been made with false smiles. Beacon would be his destination. He needed to become better than he was and, when the time would come, he would retire as a Huntsman and take over his father's mantle just as his father before him had done.

Some would say Dove Bronzewing was trapped in a cage of destiny and assume he wanted to be free. But Dove loved the cage. He'd never been particularly proactive and had no ambitions other than to be of use to his family. Most people wondered about the meaning of their life or about what purpose that was in life itself. Dove had known his purpose. He felt safe in that. Worry was something foreign to him. He was above others who searched for some meaning to cling to. He was better, destined to do something greater than crawl like an ant and die without changing a single thing in the world.

Their activities would rise, their profits would increase tenfold. The Bronzewings would have the power to push and pull anyone they liked.

He remembered the events from a month ago.

"Father, why'd you drag me down here so suddenly? What's going on?" Dove had asked, yawning.

"Son, we've been sold out," his father, a tall, well-built man with the same light-brown hair, answered steadily. They were in the torch-lit, stone basement of his estate, surrounded by crates filled with illegal weapons and Dust that had been illegally mined or stolen. The familiar scent of sulfur was in the air, but the entire basement was dead quiet. They were alone down there, the stairs above them barricaded. The raid had come too quickly for them to hide the evidence. "I can go to prison. It's not too terrible in there. With time, I may even make bail. But _you_ can't be caught. They'll try to arrest anybody currently in this house. You can escape, maybe even make a deal. Play the victim, son. There's a tunnel built down here, leading out of the house. You know what to do."

At that point, they heard an explosion from aboveground that shook the basement, causing dust and small chunks of stone to rain down. That was the first distraction. While non-lethal, the loud noise was meant to slow the police down. Killing them would only lengthen the prison sentence.

"But Father, why don't you come with me? We can both escape!" Dove argued, raising his voice against his father for the first time in his life. His father sighed and place a hand on his son's shoulder.

"They're after me and they won't stop until they find me. Your grandfather tried to run... and it almost ruined our family," his father replied. "I have made many mistakes. It was always a matter of time before they found me." His father sat down on a crate, staring at his hands in disgust, like they were covered in blood. Rage flashed across his face before vanishing. His father nodded and looked up at him. "At the very least, I can finally put my conscience at ease." His father wasn't crying, wasn't shouting. His eyes spoke of acceptance and, it seemed to Dove, that his father wanted to be caught.

Dove blamed his own imagination. There was no way his father would want to lose. Father wasn't weak. Dove was the weak one. That's how he'd always been. Father was the epitome of strength. Ruthless in nature and fierce in keeping his deals straight. Winning meant everything. Dove had wanted to be nothing more than to be like Father, whom the underworld respected. Father, whose destiny was to have control over the destinies of others.

Another explosion rocked the basement. The second distraction. They were running out of time. The house above them would be partially collapsed now, limiting the movement of the police forces.

Dove grit his teeth. "If you refuse to come with me, Father, then I'll avenge our family. And then I'll break you out of prison. We will move and start again. I must fulfill my role as your heir."

Dove's father laughed dryly.

"Don't worry about it. Once you leave, you're free. You can make your own path. We're only getting what we always had coming. Our number's been drawn, son. Maybe you can be the start of a new chapter of the Bronzewing family. You have that choice available to you, Dove," his father said.

Dove punched the stone wall of the basement, cracking it with his Aura powered fist.

"Don't you dare take this away from me! I never had a choice!" Dove breathed in deeply, calming himself. "Father, I'll be back. I'll continue your work. That's my purpose."

"What have I done?" His father asked the air before him, his eyes heavy and sagging as his head fell into his hands. Dove didn't answer. He knew exactly what his father had done. Dove left his father in his sorry state, unable to look at it a second more.

When Dove made it out of the tunnel leading out the estate, he found himself in the middle of a forest outside of Vale. In the distance, he heard shouting, saw distant flashlights shaking in the darkness.

They'd even figured out their escape route. _Traitor_. Somebody sold them out. This was all that traitor's fault. Not Dove's. His fault that Dove's purpose was collapsing under him, his fault that his father became so weak, his fault that Dove felt so lost. Everything was all _his fault._ The lights in the distance grew closer.

Dove fell to his knees, holding his head as warm tears fell from his eyes. His mind was pounding, throbbing against his skull and the only sound he heard in the world was his own awful, terrible heartbeat. Did they hear it? He couldn't be found. Couldn't be discovered. Don't disappoint Father. Already did. Don't show weakness. Already did. Avenge. Take everything back. Fix everything. Not your fault. The police were coming. Kill the traitor. Disappear. Kill. Vanish. Traitor. Father. Run. Hide. His fault.

There was never a choice.

When the police arrived on the scene, they found nobody.

Dove Bronzewing had awakened to his Semblance.

He found a new purpose.

He'd find the one who sold them out and turn everything back to the way it should be.

* * *

 **Over One Month Later**

* * *

Dove awoke, chained to a wall. His weapon was long gone. His burns ached. The rest of his hair had been shaved off and the top right part of his head was covered in burn scars. With his right eye now milky white, Dove struggled against the chains, but they held tight, their rattling ringing out in the empty room. The room around him was dark, save for a single screen in front of him covered in static. No other light source remained. If there was a door, he couldn't see it. Dove remembered he never finished the fight, never ended the life of Roman Torchwick. He'd spent the last month doing research to find out who betrayed their family, but left the problem to attend Beacon.

That was Ozpin's deal for Dove to avoid prison time. Yet, despite that, here he was. Stuck in a cell. In the end, nothing had changed for him.

"Now, you never told me about that Semblance, did you?" A familiar voice emanated from the screen. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Where's that _traitor_?!" He growled.

"It's because of that 'traitor' that you still live," Ozpin said through the screen. "I'll do the mercy of explaining where you are, since you're now half-blind. You are in a cell, young man. A rather secure one, I might add."

"What do you want with me?"

"Your Semblance is most useful. It would be a waste for you to rot away here. But. You attempted to murder one of my students, so you must understand that I can't quite forgive you yet. However, I will give you an option. You can stay here with your anger and your hatred… or you can perform some _community service_."

Dove's left eye opened wide and he started snickering, giggling almost.

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it? You _knew_ I'd end up this way. And now you deliver an ultimatum," Dove said. His laughing stopped and he blinked away a tear with his left eye. "I never had a choice."

"You pursued the path of vengeance. It's a path many walk and a path that always ends in tragedy. I did not _know_ you would decide to commit yourself to it so completely, but I had certainly considered the possibility."

Dove dropped his head. If Roman Torchwick had sold his family out, then Ozpin had been the buyer. For once, Dove hated being trapped in a cage of someone else's making.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked. For a moment, there was no response. Then, in careful, concise words, Ozpin answered.

"What I've always wanted. To protect Vale and its citizens."

* * *

 **A/N:** Fun fact. The quote from Roman that inspired the name of this fic is Lie, steal, cheat, and survive. However, I went with Lie, cheat, steal, and survive for a very specific reason. I'm sure that will grow more evident as that story goes on.

Oh, and here's the backstory for Dove that Roman would never care to learn, in addition to a bit of stuff that points toward the future. Enjoy. No question for this chapter. On a final note, updates won't nearly be as rapid going forward. I just had written ahead a bit.

Oh, and if you have some spare time, check out Fandom Flux on youtube. Just a group of fic writers that do podcasts, streams, and I did a whole analysis/review series of RWBY with Flux Casey if you're interested.

Thank you for reading.


	6. Catching up

**Chapter 4: Catching up**

 **A/N: Very much a transition chapter.**

* * *

In a dark part of the forest where no watchful eyes were privy, Blake Belladonna had pinned Ilia to the ground. After running so far from the White Fang, it seemed she hadn't run far enough. Her old… coworker had resurfaced, disguised as a faunus named "Perry". With her abilities as a chameleon faunus, infiltration had always been Ilia's strong suit. Blake couldn't help herself from letting out a low growl.

"Was I that obvious?" Illia asked, Blake's katana, Gambol Shroud, beneath her neck. Of all the partners she'd had over the years, Gambol Shroud was the only one who never betrayed her.

"It's that stupid laugh you always do," Blake answered. "Distracts your conversation partner. Makes them think less of you. You only have so many tricks."

"I'd have changed them if I knew you were here beforehand," Ilia answered, not at all perturbed by the blade. "I didn't come for you."

"Liar," Blake said, her grip tightening around her sword.

"Blake, if I did," Ilia started, "Then he'd already be here. Not me. He doesn't know."

"If it's not me, then you're here for something worse," Blake said. "It's always something bad, some sort of 'injustice' you're trying to solve through violence. The White Fang used to _mean_ something." Back when she joined, back when disobeyed her parents, she thought she was being a part of something greater. She'd never been more wrong.

"This time it's a 'reward', Blake," Ilia said. Blake's eyes widened at the familiar term. "He's a thief and a murderer. That bombing from a few months ago? That was him."

Hidden beneath her bow, Blake's cat ears twitched. "Rewards" were the bits of bait that kept the followers thinking they were in the right. A mission against somebody guilty of something horrible. Nobody innocent needed to be harmed. That part was optional.

"And if you help me accomplish my mission," Ilia continued, "Then I leave. _He_ doesn't find out you're here. One last mission, Blake. For old times sake. You don't even have to kill my target. Just help give me an opportunity."

Blake's golden eyes burrowed into every aspect of Ilia's expression, hoping to find something to doubt. This deal was too good for her. Ilia wasn't telling her something. No, there was certainly a lot she wasn't telling. No doubt her mission had one, perhaps two, extra objectives that she was keeping secret. But if Blake didn't help, Ilia would spread news of her whereabouts. If Ilia died, somebody would investigate and find Blake. Beacon was Blake's chance to start over. She couldn't run from it either. Somehow, she had to make this work. She had to try.

"What's his name?" Blake asked, closing her eyes. She removed her katana from Ilia's throat. If she couldn't run from this, then for the time being she could pull herself closer to Ilia and find out her former partner's true mission. Rewards always furthered something darker later on. Always. And Blake would make sure she was there to stop it.

Ilia licked her lips.

"You saw me talking to him, didn't you? Roman Torchwick. But I hear he goes by Jack Candlestick now."

* * *

 **Earlier**

* * *

The Nevermore crashed into the ground, gouging out huge chunks of earth and rock, sending the gathered students flying in all directions. Ruby watched as Jack was sent flying deep into the woods, and she too was sent flying in the opposite direction. Correcting herself in midair, she fired Crescent Rose behind her, bringing directly in front of the giant raven Grimm.

Yang blasted through the air before landing right beside her.

Weiss dashed off glyphs formed in the air, correcting herself and landing with the group.

Jaune and Pyrrha ran over to their side, their shields and swords drawn. They'd been further back from the group and had avoided the crash completely.

Off to the side, Russel poked his head out from a bush.

"We survived!" The girl atop the Nevermore cried as she jumped off it. Pulling open the Grimm's talons, she retrieved a very bored looking boy. "Ren, we did it!"

"Nora," the boy, Ren, said. "Your crash landing almost killed these people."

"Pshaw! They all look plenty alive to me!" Nora exclaimed. Ren levelled his vision at her and sighed. Seeing this, Nora quickly turned to face the group of students and rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorrrrryyyyy!" Nora said.

At that moment the Nevermore roared to life, raising its huge wings and flapping them, the sheer wind pressure almost enough to knock everyone off their feet.

Ruby gathered all her courage and shouted, "Everybody! Let's take this thing down!"

* * *

 **The Day After Initiation**

* * *

Roman woke up in a white room, under white sheets, in a white bed. Several feet in front of him, seated in a chair and reading a book, was Glynda Goodwitch. Next to her was a large counter and on either side of Roman's bed was a curtain. Looking at his hands, Roman sighed in relief when he saw they were perfectly healthy and youthful. He patted his body down, but found no signs of wounds or bleeding.

This wasn't a dream.

He lived.

"You're awake," Glynda stated, snapping her book shut. He just caught the title before she put away. 'Becoming a More Approachable Person! The Easy Way!'. Glynda continued, "I don't know how you did it, but you managed to end up with teammates who cared enough to rescue you."

"It's my charm, doll," Roman answered as he sat up, feeling a brief tightness in his lungs. He coughed before continuing, "Stick with me long enough and you might find it working on you too." He winked. Glynda pushed her glasses up.

"Not in your life," she said. Then she reached into her pocket and threw a small box at him, which he deftly caught. His cigars! "We never compensated for all your correct information. Consider that part one of it as well as an apology for allowing an attempt on your life. Remember that this is still a non-smoking campus and you should remain more than twenty feet away from a school building if you wish to… 'light one up'."

Roman cigars! His sweet, sweet, imported cigars! Life had been hell since they took them away! He almost kissed the box.

"All that smoke couldn't have been more harmful to your body. Considering your habits," Glynda said, pushing up her glasses. Roman pulled a cigar out of the box on stuck it between his lips. He couldn't quite smoke it yet with him not having so much as a lighter, but it felt good to have it back. Like an old friend.

"I can stop anytime I want, doll. I do it for pleasure, not need. I'm a master of my own vices," Roman said, crossing his arms and leaning back into his soft pillow. Glynda pushed her glasses up again, the slight change in light causing a glare that almost covered her rolling her eyes. Almost. Roman smiled. He caught her this time.

"And this," she said, pulling a strange device from the counter beside her. She held the device that looked like a vambrace up. The steel was dyed black with faint orange trim along the intricately patterned metal. "Is part two."

She tossed it to him. Again, he grabbed it, noticing her push her glasses up again. Did she want him to miss? He winked at her again.

"Sorry to disappoint," he said. Then, examining the device, he asked, "And what exactly is this?"

Glynda sighed.

"An accessory for your weapon. Courtesy of Headmaster Ozpin. It will prevent you from dropping your weapon so easily," Glynda said, standing and grabbing her book. "Oh, and your hat fell into the fire. Your spare black one is in your dorm room."

"So I take it I passed then?" Roman inquired, grinning. Glynda nodded.

"Surprisingly. You may not have finished, but you held your own against an assassin and even were able to signal for help. Not to mention, you let the assassin live. He's currently imprisoned. Ozpin believes that speaks enough of your true character," Glynda said. "And we are well aware of your abilities."

"You make it sound like I could have chosen to kill him. That fight was just self-preservation against a tough foe," Roman said. Glynda smirked.

"You know better than anyone the blast range on your shots. All you had to do was fire on the ground in front of Dove Bronzewing to send him into the flames and end his life. It would have taken mere seconds for you to fire another shot towards the sky and signal for help," Glynda said. "Your facade has cracks in it, Roman."

' _...I could have just fucking shot the ground?!'_ Roman thought as he faked a smirk.

"Think whatever you like," he said. "Am I free to go now?"

"Not quite. You're to rest for a day. While your Aura has restored most of your body to fighting shape, there might be long lasting effects," Glynda clarified. Roman shrugged and steepled his hands, relaxing in bed. He'd slept very well. He could afford to sleep a little lon—

' _I didn't have a dream,'_ he thought. He always had a dream of the future. _'I was low on Aura when I passed out... Of course! Semblances use Aura!_ _Then, if I ever want to stop dreaming, all I have to do is nearly die before bed. Great.'_ Roman calmed down. Given that he was resting and he had no way of knowing what would come next, it wouldn't make sense to panic. He could enjoy the present for a day. He eyed the security camera in the corner of white-tiled ceiling. For once, he was safe.

"As for what transpired after you passed out, I'm sure _she_ can explain it. I can't stay around in the Nurse's office forever. I have a class to go teach. Remember what I said about the smoking policy," Glynda said as she moved towards the door.

"One last thing, Spectacles," he said, taking the unlit cigar out of his mouth and holding it between two fingers. "Despite his family being arrested and him wanting to murder me, Dove Bronzewing was allowed to participate in the initiation. And you obviously were watching without interfering in an _attempted murder._ Makes a fellow wonder if your test of my 'true character' was set up to be like this from the start, doesn't it?"

Glynda stared at him, the intensity and coldness in her eyes matching the same fierceness in his. They held each other's gaze for a moment and Roman knew that the moment she spoke he'd be reading her face for any trace of a lie. He also knew that she would be expecting that of him. Without a word more, Glynda pulled the door open and departed. Shrugging, Roman popped the cigar back into his mouth. He didn't have Dust left from before, right? Just the equivalent of a match would do.

A moment later, a head of white hair poked through and Weiss entered the room. Roman cocked an eyebrow.

"When she said ' _she_ ', I was expecting—"

"Ruby or Nilla," Weiss finished his sentence. He noticed now she was wearing Beacon's uniform, a dark maroon jacket over a white shirt and a plaid skirt. Although her entire color scheme screamed "white", it appeared she actually could wear clothes of different colors. Shocker. She rolled her eyes. "Not me. I know. And I'm guessing you have an insult set up if I even _try_ to comment on the cigar."

"Oh, you _are_ a quick learner," Roman said, smiling while still holding the cigar between his lips. "What do you want? Are you here to mock me again? I'll give you a freebie. Come on, give me your best shot, princess. I'm recovering from asphyxiation. I don't know how well I'll be able to form a comeback. Take a shot."

"I was the one who saved your life, idiot," Weiss said, sitting down in Glynda's chair.

Roman froze, the cigar falling out of his mouth and onto his blanket.

' _What.'_

"...Why?" For once, Roman was shellshocked. It made no sense. She _hated_ him. Neo had burnt that bridge to the ground. Weiss should, by all accounts, have no reason to save his life. Did Weiss want something from him? He never gave off the impression he was wealthy to her. Wait! Did she want to use this favor to humiliate him? Was that what she was going for?!

"Because it was the right thing to do," Weiss explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She sighed. "Just because I don't like you doesn't mean I'd leave you to die."

"Spare me the ethics," Roman said, disregarding her obvious excuse. "What are you _really_ after? What's your angle here? Do you think I'll feel indebted to you just becaus—"

"Shut up, Jack," Weiss cut him off. "The girl you were with, Ruby? She told me about how your Semblance can see how strong somebody is. Nilla told me about how you lived on the streets. So I'm starting to understand you. Somewhat." She said those words as if she'd just tasted something sour. "If you need a reason beyond me doing the right thing, then I demand an apology."

Roman laughed. "An apology? Is that all? How should I apologize? Grovel at your feet in gratitude? You're hilarious, princess." He picked his cigar up off his blanket and examined it closely. It wasn't even the same brand! They replaced his cigars with some cheap knock-off?! "All of you are the same. Stupidly kind. Stupidly just. Stupidly heroic. "

He breathed in a moment, closing his eyes as he did so. Roman took a moment to collect himself and realized that maybe this bridge was not burnt after all. For a meagre hit to his pride, he could repair it. The more allies between him and Cinder, the better. More than that, some strange part of him did feel gratitude. He'd repay this debt here and now.

And if all this girl wanted was an apology, he could grant that wish. He treasured his life above everything else and, if not for her, all of his planning would have ended in failure. Ozpin and his little secretary would have no doubt watched him die and then wax philosophical about how he wasn't worthy after all. Like it or not, Weiss Schnee saved him. Not to mention that gratitude was one of the most easy to manipulate emotions, and Roman had no plans on feeling it any longer. This apology was entirely self-serving. It wasn't for her. It absolutely wasn't for her.

"That all being said… I'm sorry," Roman said, unable to make eye contact. "I was harsh. I'll admit I came out swinging and you personally deserved none of it. At least until you insulted my style, princess."

Weiss sighed. She did that a lot around him. Roman, of course, was always glad to be an unfortunate headache.

"That's the best I'll get out of you," she stated, more for herself than for him. "Anyway, since I saved your life and everyone else is preoccupied, I'm the one that has to deal with catching you up to speed. After all, you're the leader of team CRWN now." Just saying that last sentence seemed to hurt her. Roman grinned. Crown. He couldn't think of a better name.

"And that's a lovely little surprise. I'm guessing Ruby and Nilla are the other two members?" He faked a guess. He'd made sure Neo grabbed that other chess piece. Weiss nodded.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you were able to take control of the situation and organize us when we were faced with that Deathstalker. _And_ you were able to grasp our strengths and move us effectively as a team. Not to mention that you at least take being a Huntsman seriously." _Unlike some people._ That was the implication Roman understood. More importantly, Weiss was _praising_ him now. All it took was a stupid little apology for this type of treatment? His plan was supposed to have _her_ end up apologizing to him in the end, but this worked just as well.

"That makes me wonder. How _did_ you defeat that Nevermore without me?" He asked. Weiss sighed.

" _I_ didn't do anything."

* * *

 **The Day Before**

* * *

Ruby shouted, "Everybody! Let's take this thing down!"

"How?!" Russel yelled over from the bushed. "That thing's huge!"

The Nevermore continued to flap its enormous wings as it took off into the sky, flying high above them as it circled around for what Weiss could only guess would be a diving attack. Everyone now, having recovered from the strong winds, began to talk over each other. Nilla excepted, of course.

"I'm going to get out of here! There's no way we can w—

"—hether you like it or not you _are_ my partner, Russel, and we need to—"

"—only ground it, then we can—"

"—Take it down, but we'll need their help, Pyrrha, to—"

"—Hit it really hard! Come on, Ren, we should really—"

"E-Everybody! Calm down! We can defeat it if we work together!" Ruby shouted with closed eyes as she held Crescent Rose aloft. The gathered applicants looked at her briefly before going back to trying to formulate their own strategies. Only Yang gave Ruby a sympathetic smile before going back to trying to keep her partner from running away. Off to the side, Weiss shook her head.

Although Ruby had the right idea, she knew almost nobody there and nobody there knew who she was. She'd proven herself to be fast, but she was clearly nervous and there were too many people too concerned with their own affairs. Who would rally behind a stranger who was not only younger than them, but also lacked confidence and a definitive plan?

Weiss would have spoken up to add her own opinion, but she was still formulating a plan of attack. It wouldn't do any good to speak up unless she knew exactly what to say. She'd be ignored, like Ruby.

The Nevermore was coming around now, its claws extended as it launched itself toward the group, screeching so deep it became a roar. The talking had stopped now. Nora and Ren were staring at the Grimm, trying to figure out a game plan. Russel was caught mid-choke hold by Yang. Jaune and Pyrrha had their weapons ready, and the two nodded at each other. Nilla was playing on her Scroll, completely unconcerned with the whole situation.

"Wait, that's it! We just need to ground it and then hit it really hard! Watch me, everybody! Hit it once I ground it!" Ruby shouted as she jumped on her scythe and pulled the trigger, sending her into the air. She fired again and again, launching herself higher before she pulled back her scythe and turned into a blur of red, leaving a trail of falling rose petals behind her. Weiss' eyes widened as she noticed her trajectory.

' _That idiot! She's using the same tactic Jack had her do! She's going to try to tear off a wing!'_ Given how her power worked before, it wasn't hard to realize why Nilla needed to distract the Deathstalker. Ruby only dashed in a straight line.

The Nevermore only had to flaps its wings once for Ruby to speed right past it, missing it completely. Off to the side, Jaune began to talk with Yang and Russel, but Weiss ignored them.

Readying Myrtenaster, she prepared herself on the ground for the incoming attack. She'd freeze its talons to the ground as it tried to pass through them and stick it to the ground. She could rub her victory in Jack's smug, dumb face.

"It's close enough now! Pyrrha!" Jaune suddenly yelled. Pyrrha nodded and turned her sword into a spear and threw it. The weapon's aim was true and, with the Nevermore bearing down on them, it struck itself straight into the raven's mask. A moment later—

"I should never have told you what my Semblance was!" Russel cried as he flew through the air again, hammering the spear deeper into the mask of the Nevermore when he collided with it. Shortly after, Yang fired herself through the air and, using the shots from her shot gauntlets, twisted herself to add spin and momentum to the punch she landed right on end of Pyrrha's spear. The spear, finally hit with enough force, shot through the Grimm's skull and out its throat.

The Grimm dissipated. It never even hit the ground.

"Awww! I wanted to _smack_ it!" Nore cried out. Beside her, Ren shook his head. He eyed the gouged out earth from the Grimm's earlier crash.

"You did more than enough damage, Nora" he said.

At this point, Weiss noticed smoke rising in the distance. Nilla was already running towards it. Weiss followed, not bothering to stick around for the group congratulating each other.

* * *

"By the time we got there, the fire was too big and we weren't sure you in still there. The signal you sent up was all we needed," Weiss explained.

"So, and correct me if I'm wrong, Ruby shot herself and missed and then everybody else beat the Nevermore while you just watched?" Roman asked. Weiss rolled her eyes, but Roman spoke up before she could retort, saying, "And if you hadn't, then I'd be dead. I got it. Doesn't make the story less boring. Any other news?"

"The team that beat the Nevermore became team JRNY, lead by Jaune," Weiss explained, calling it 'Journey'. "And the couple that caused the whole mess became part of this team called ROBN. Beacon's standards must be falling if they let those two in after that." Robin, like the bird. Funny, considering they crashed everyone's good time while riding a giant bird.

"Could have been much worse," Roman admitted. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"And don't get me started on the fact that you were almost _assassinated_ ," Weiss said. "And before you ask, Nilla and I were sworn to secrecy, so you aren't allowed to go shouting about it. More importantly, even though you're unlikeable enough for me to believe people have a problem with you, why, of all the things he could have done, did he have to raid _my_ luggage for Dust! That was 500,000 lien of high-quality Dust gone just to _try_ to kill you!"

Roman suddenly fell into a 'coughing fit' to hide his laughter. 500,000! There were only seven vials that he stole! What the hell was her standard of living?! And she thought Dove stole it! This was fantastic! Aside from that, it seemed Ozpin was trying to sweep this incident under the rug. Neo and Weiss were there to see Dove, so it would make sense that they'd be told and made to promise secrecy. Coming out of his coughing fit, he changed the subject.

"How about we _don't_ get you started on that topic, princess?" Roman suggested. "I find it hard to believe that that blondie could come up with a plan like that so efficiently. He didn't seem the type."

Weiss shrugged, though she wasn't putting her full effort into it. Roman could tell she was still thinking about the missing vials.

"Some people end up being surprisingly competent in a pinch," Weiss said, disregarding the thought. "And then their personality is trash the rest of the time. Like you."

"You really are _terrible_ at insults. I'll give you the full 101 class later," he said, smirking. "One last question, princess. What exactly are Ruby and Nilla doing?" He asked. Weiss sighed.

"Ruby is doing something to our dorm room. As for Nilla, she seemed angry when we recovered you from the fire. I haven't seen her since we were assigned to be on the same team," Weiss admitted. "Your uniform, class schedule, and all your stuff is in a corner of the dorm room, by the way. Far from my stuff." Weiss stood up and stretched. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to."

Roman waved her off with a single hand motion.

' _She may not like me, but she has to admit my competence. At the very least, I have the beginnings of loyalty,'_ Roman thought, a smirk on his face.

If that killer was an abnormality, then there was a possibility he was back on track to dying nice and old.

Before he knew it, Roman drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

Red.

A forest of red, covered in red leaves, white tree trunks stretching up toward the sky, the sweet and thick smell of syrup wafted through the air, and Roman could only breathe nature in. Forever Fall. He knew this place's distinctive qualities, he knew the profit it could offer. The world was, for the moment, at peace, but he could not shake the feeling of something being off. Something here was strange, similar even.

Forever Fall shook.

It shook with a cacophony of roars and a distant rumble.

Ten, no, at least a hundred Grimm all screamed in the distance.

The earth quaked from their footfalls, and, in the distance, trees began to fall.

One by one.

Faster and faster.

Closer and closer.

Roman turned around and his team was behind him. He was not alone.

"Run!" He shouted. Ruby, Weiss, and Neo didn't hesitate. The four of them turned and ran through the white trees, dodging under branches and jumping over roots as the distant rumbling grew closer. Roman dared to look back and found himself staring at a stampede, a horde of Ursa Grimm running in their direction. They couldn't hide. They'd be trampled. They couldn't beat this. They would lose. They needed time, needed to delay the horde of Grimm.

"Weiss, throw up a wall of ice! Nilla, illusion! Ruby, dash forward and get help! You're the fastest one here!" He ordered.

"Aye aye, sir!" Ruby said as she dashed off. Beside him, Weiss stopped and turned around, rolling her eyes as stabbed her rapier into the ground and brought up a wall of ice between them and the Grimm. Neo then snapped her fingers and he knew, even if he didn't know the nature of her illusion, that they were safe. He stopped, fell against the wall of ice, and breathed out. They could survive this.

Ruby would make it in time.

He breathed in.

No? He couldn't?

He tried to breathe again.

His throat was seizing up, blocked by its own swollen muscles..

He clawed at his neck, making silents gasps and quiet moans. Weiss took notice and ran over to stand over him, shouting at him. He couldn't hear her. Neo stood beside her, frozen in shock.

His chest hurt.

He could no longer move his body.

His vision was dimming.

Weiss began to panick. Neo's small fists pounded against his body.

He could no longer see.

No longer feel.

He died.

* * *

Roman suddenly breathed in, air filling his burning lungs. The Nurse's office was dark and he sat up, covered in a cold sweat and hyperventilating. He clutched his chest and doubled over, taking long, slow breaths. He tested all his fingers and toes and they responded accordingly.

Through clenched teeth, Roman whispered, "Fucking poison."

* * *

"And how is the operation going?" Cinder asked the tall, bearded man.

They were in the back room of his bar and the faint, muffled sound of music, came through the air. Cinder lounged across a long, black couch and wore thick gloves on her hands. Emerald sat in the leather chair next to her, drinking from a fancy glass with an enraptured expression. Standing opposite of her in the luxurious room was Junior, the tall man who owned this establishment. Flanking him on either side were black-haired twins, one wearing red and the other wearing white.

"Poorly," Junior answered, scratching his head. "The whole city's on high alert and most of my associates already left to greener pastures. The Forger is the only one still around and he doesn't know a thing about stealing Dust. We need more time, ma'am."

"And that's why I hired you," Cinder said, smiling only with her lips. Beside her, Emerald grinned. "Let's just say that your progress has been… unsatisfactory. Even with the additional White Fang reinforcements backing you up, you've been beaten by two different young girls on two _separate_ occasions. You have no tact, no strategy, but you have strength. How am I supposed to be patient when you fail at the one thing you're good at?"

The twins beside Junior glared at Cinder, but a single look back from the frightening lady froze them in their spots. She'd long since taught them their place.

"Ma'am, you have to understand tha—"

"That you have done _nothing!_ " Cinder shouted as Emerald recoiled in shock. Then, regaining her cool, Cinder smiled cockily again. If only her agent would report back with good news. If only Roman Torchwick would just die already. Her emotions could go back to being how they were. Under control, calm. Confidence restored. Power returned. She sounded like an idiot when she shouted. Only fools who didn't know their place shouted. Cinder did _not_ shout!

The damn seed of fear he planted in her was sprouting.

"So I think we should change your approach. Instead of halfway being brutish and halfway being stealthy, we go should go full force," Cinder grinned. She could only thank Mercury for procuring the thick gloves on her hands. They kept them from shaking.

* * *

 **A/N: So concludes Arc 1: LIAR, and new one begins.**

As an aside, I swear I don't hate Ruby. She's kind of gotten the bad end of things, but do remember that this is season 1 Ruby whose greatest plan was to launch herself at the big bird really fast. With 'Jack', one of the few people who believes in her, out of the picture, she was shaken and there were too many people for her to rally in that state. At the same time, she couldn't leave them to go save Roman when the big Grimm was right there.

If you haven't read the bonus chapter before this, I advise you do it if you want to know the eventual fate of Dove. While not much happened in this chapter, we did get to see the next death. This will be a fun one.

Also, to recap, we have CRWN (Candlestick, Ruby, Weiss, Nilla), JRNY (Jaune, Russel, Nikos, Yang), and ROBN (Ren, ?, ?, Nora).

Thanks for reading!


	7. Howking paranoia

**Chapter 5: Howking paranoia**

* * *

 _He remembered that the world was a scary place when he was a kid._

 _It still was._

 _He remembered the moving shadows in the alleyways, the watchful eyes of storekeepers as he pilfered food, the large physiques of the older kids. He remembered keeping one eye over his shoulder and one hand on a steel rod he'd stolen from a construction site. He remembered the nightmares._

 _He still had nightmares._

 _He remembered the knife he used to hide underneath his pillowcase, the lethal weapon that protected him while he slept even if the nightmares didn't go away._

 _He wished he still had that knife._

* * *

The little girl was glaring at Ozpin.

Of course, this girl was Nilla Stracolate, one of his precious new students. At her request, he met with her, but she'd only spent the last ten minutes glaring at him silently. He knew she could not speak, but the girl was getting along just well with her Scroll. She sat in the chair across from him in his office, her Scroll in her hands, but she didn't type a single message. There was something off about her gaze, something so wrong and so cold that he couldn't quite put into words.

"Excuse me, Miss Stracolate, what is it that you wanted?" He asked for the third time. Finally, she raised her Scroll and typed into it.

{Aren't you supposed to protect the students?}

Ozpin smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. Though we had one individual act irrationally, we'll make no more missteps in the future when it comes to the well-being of our students," Ozpin lied smoothly.

{Don't let him be taken away.} Nilla's response read. It was obvious as to who she was referring to.

"We won't. You have my word," Ozpin replied. Nilla looked up at him again, and Ozpin finally could pin down what she looked like in that moment. A broken doll left on the side of the street, glaring coldly and emptily at the world around it. He couldn't help but feel a shudder down his spine at the image. He wondered if this girl really was just a civilian.

Without typing a word more, Nilla got up and left.

* * *

 **The Following Day**

* * *

Perry Owens was the identity she had taken.

A wig, glasses, and a pair of fake ears was all Ilia had needed to disguise herself as one of the newest recruits of the White Fang. Naturally, any real faunus could tell the ears were fake if they got a good look at them; she had not intended on enrolling in Beacon and being found out. Humans tended to not make eye contact with faunus, so they were hardly a concern. She'd spent a long time researching and planning, adopting a new gait, a new voice, and even a new personality. Infiltration was her specialty, and it was to only be pulled off well by tedious work and practice to make the disguise flawless.

"Perrrrrrry! Blakey! Are you two ready for a wonderful day?!" A loud voice broke the air, causing Ilia to almost jab herself in the eye with her foundation. The makeup hid her spots and freckles, making her look as close to Perry as possible. She was in her newfound dorm room as one of the members of team ROBN. Behind her, Blake rolled her eyes and rushed to the door, blocking the loud girl who almost burst in to see 'Perry' putting on makeup.

"Nora, you're back from breakfast? Can you wait a minute for us?" Blake asked, her voice subdued and bored.

"Oh, are you two _lovebirds_ still enjoying each other? Heehee, I think I can get lost for a minute or two," Nora said with a wink before skipping down the hallway. Blake turned to glare at Ilia, who could only shrug and fake cockiness. Turning back to the mirror, Ilia sighed. Naturally, they needed a lie that would buy them time together to plan and strategize on how to take out Roman, one that would keep Ren and Nora from discovering Ilia's identity was a fake at night or in the morning. An excuse for the two of them to stick together even in times when two friends didn't normally wouldn't.

Unfortunately, them being lovers was the most convenient excuse.

' _This isn't what I signed up for.'_

"Blake, I—"

"Shut up," Blake interrupted. "Just shut up. Don't say anything."

Ilia smirked.

"I really missed you, Blake," Ilia commented. Finishing up her makeup, Ilia, walked over to Blake and extended an arm.

"That makes one of us."

Blake sighed heavily and held "Perry's" hand and the two walked out together.

* * *

Junior, Stork Airways, The Sirens, Dishonest John (damn him), The Forger, Hawk, and Crane.

Including Cinder and Neo (who had faked her death to become Nilla), those were the major groups and contacts Roman had sold out to gain entrance to Beacon. Hawk must have been Dove Bronzewing's father considering he was the only one of them old enough and "nice" enough to have a kid that age. Hawk also had an heir and, surprise surprise, both of them were named after birds. In any case, if Cinder wasn't behind this next death again, then it could only be one of those suspects.

Roman stretched as he stepped out of the nurse's office, his shiny new vambrace secured to his right arm. The trick to the thing was that it had a length of thin wire that extended from the forearm that he could connect to Melodic Cudgel. A simple flick of the wrist and he could draw the wire back into the vambrace, retrieving Melodic Cudgel if it was ever sent flying from his hand. It was quite useful, considering how it allowed him to possibly vary up the moves he could use during combat.

Going back to the matter at hand, Stork Airways were a transportation company for the underground crowd and he doubted they'd spend time poisoning him. It would take more than a tip from him to upend the largest and richest illegal company in Remnant. They'd likely just rough him up, steal his wallet, perhaps lightly humiliate him, and then spit on him as they left him covered in dirt and blood in an alleyway. He'd been there before. It wasn't as bad as it sounded as long as the person who did the spitting wasn't sick.

Of course, he still kept a little bit of blackmail on one of their pilots in his back pocket. A free ride could come in handy one day. If he wasn't being so closely observed and wasn't so sure he could handle the initiation, he would have used it earlier. That being said, Roman was glad he saved it.

There was also the all-female gang known as The Sirens that ran protection on Vale's adult entertainment. They were elusive and hard to catch, but that was because they took their work and ditched town at the first scent of trouble. Dishonest John and his gang would never poison him. Roman knew more than anyone that the big fellow would gut him alive rather than resort to poison. Hell, John would gut him even if he hadn't sold out the big oaf.

While Junior had his own little militia, he had no ability to orchestrate a poisoning. Not to mention that the info Roman had on him was in no way major enough to take down his place of business if he just passed an inspection or two.

Which left The Forger and Crane. Both were mysterious crime lords who ran the streets but never appeared in person. The Forger could forge any document due to his Semblance which supposedly allowed him to perfectly copy the movements of anyone he saw doing them. It didn't take a genius to realize he'd mastered more styles of combat than anyone else.

Crane's intelligence network was ludicrous and oftentimes he knew what you would do before you did. That being said, the Forger never acted out violently and had grown softer in recent years and Crane's network was so advanced that Roman's small bit of info he had wasn't enough to warrant a poisoning. Maybe a small mugging.

Of all the ways he'd died, Cinder had never used poison, so it was unlikely this was her work. That being said, there was a first time for everything. He considered the possibility of him getting sick as well, so he'd have to monitor his health from hereon.

Following the instructions Glynda left him, Roman made his way to his dorm room stuck in his thoughts.

Then there was the matter of location. Forever Fall. Given that his teammates were there and still young, and decked out with weapons, it was either a mission in the near future or some sort of field trip. The stampede of Ursa was also a concern, but what was he supposed to do about it? Tell Ozpin that one day they would go to Forever Fall and there would be a stampede? He'd be giving up the secret of his Semblance if he did, and that was something he couldn't afford to do no matter what.

Ozpin could figure that out. It wasn't his problem in the first place as long as he managed to avoid it. Which, thankfully, his future self had done.

Finally reaching outside his room, Roman stopped and, realizing he was scratching his neck, stopped that as well. All he had to do to avoid being poisoned was not eat or drink anything offered to him. It was simple. He was overthinking things. This was the easiest death to avoid. Whoever offered him food or drink was the suspect. He could also have Neo taste test for poison just in case. Among her many other skills, this one had been plenty useful in the past.

He shook his head. Roman couldn't even convince himself with that lie.

He opened the door only to be tackled by Neo and Ruby.

"You're alive!" Ruby exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his stomach. Neo had turned and flanked him to grab his side, clutching onto his jacket tightly. Neo, as always, said nothing, but her hands were trembling.

' _Leave it to the hero to miss somebody they barely know. At least I know Neo is acting on her part,'_ Roman thought as he pushed Ruby off of him.

"Do you really think I would die that easily?" Roman boasted. Of course, he _did_ die that easily in the dream, but nobody needed to know that. Neo waited a second longer and then released him. The way her lower lip trembled was so believable that he almost that she wasn't acting for a moment.

"I can't believe there was such a big forest fire! I mean, really, what are the odds?" Ruby said as Roman pushed his way into the room. Four beds sat in a row against the back wall and took up the near entirety of the room. Weiss' luggage surrounded the bed on the far right. The princess herself sat on the bed, thumbing her way through a textbook. She looked up at Roman as he entered, eyed Ruby, and then sighed before going back to her book.

' _I know. I can't believe I'm on a team with her either,'_ Roman thought. Did Ruby really buy that it was a forest fire in a perfectly green forest?

"Whatever," he replied. "Ruby, where did you people put my belongings?"

At that, Ruby glared at him.

"Red," she said. Roman sighed.

"That's a color, not a place. Do I really need to teach you how to give directions?" Roman said. He scratched his neck.

"No! Red is the nickname you called me!" Ruby exclaimed. "And if we're going to be besties, then I'll call you Candle and you'll call me Red!"

Weiss and Roman sighed at exactly the same time as Neo dived underneath the bed to the far left and came out with a small, black briefcase. Roman nodded at Neo and could almost feel his wallet get slightly emptier.

"Fine. Candle is an idiotic nickname, _Red_. Point of a nickname is that it's supposed to be shorter. Just call me Jack," Roman answered as he took his black briefcase from Neo. He moved over to his bed and opened it.

The uniform was inside, alongside his hat and a few other personal effects. Like brown hair dye to keep his hair from going to that familiar shade of orange. Not that it apparently fucking mattered. He was recognized instantly. He wasn't even wanted, so no _normal_ student would recognize him. Still, he'd already gone too far with this charade. He had to play it through or else he'd lose the fragile trust his teammates had in him.

"Nope!" Ruby replied, smiling. Roman turned to Weiss.

"How many cups of coffee did she have this morning?" He asked. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"None. She's 'naturally perky'," Weiss commented, sending a glare toward Ruby.

"Weiss is just a sourpuss. Can you believe she just watched when the Nevermore attacked?" Ruby said, glaring back at Weiss.

"At least _I_ didn't miss and humiliate myself!" Weiss countered, her voice rising.

"I do _not_ want to deal with this!" Roman interrupted, silencing the two of them. He scratched his neck compulsively. Neo grinned, recognizing the line he'd said to more than a few goons in the past. "I don't care if you two get along, but I'm the leader of this team. When I'm around, you two tolerate each other. You listen to my orders. I will _not_ end up dying because you two are both too busy fighting each other. You both contributed nothing to that Nevermore fight. Deal with it, girls."

He took his black bowler hat from his bag and put on his head. He'd led more than a few teams of goons. Of course, not all of them got along. However, if he established dominance and made them work towards a common goal, then it almost always worked out. He grabbed his uniform.

Behind him, Ruby said, "Did you really have to say it like that, Candle? You sounded kinda like a jerk."

"He _is_ a jerk. Welcome to reality," Weiss contributed.

' _I swear I will slap both of them at some point,'_ Roman thought. Unfortunately, he had more important things to worry about right now. Somebody planned on poisoning him. And, at the moment, he knew almost nothing about the poison or the poisoner.

This weapon was far worse than a sword.

"Just shut up and let me get ready. Class starts soon," Roman said.

* * *

"And that was how I managed to slay the ancient Grimm that rested within the sands of Vacuo!" Professor Port finished his story. His class, of course, consisted almost entirely of this speech about his great deeds. The robust, older man always spoke as if he was laughing, as if there was an abundance of joy and adventure in the world to be found. Roman hoped the professor would be arrested for fraud. "And that will be all for today! Before I dismiss class, however, I have been told that there may be a special trip planned for everyone in two weeks! I look forward to your guesses and excitement, young ones!"

Professor Port laughed his way out of the classroom as all the rows of seats burst into chatter. Roman sat in the back of the class where the seats where the highest. Beside him was Neo. Ruby and Weiss sat further down on opposite sides of the room and he could hear Ruby's excited voice calling out to Yang.

' _Two weeks. If he's talking about a trip, then it's extremely likely to be Forever Fall. The place is close by and known for red sap. Damn it. I hope I'm wrong on this,'_ Roman thought as he stood and grabbed his belongings.

He eyed the rest of the students in the room.

Ruby and Weiss both left the room, neither one looking at each other.

The black-haired girl left with Perry, the faunus he'd met before initiation. He'd expected the faunus to pass, but them being together reaffirmed his suspicions that the two had some form of relationship. Also…

"Stand back everyone! Lovebirds coming through! Double date here we go!" A loud, orange haired girl shouted as she dragged a black-haired male behind her. The black-haired girl and Perry visibly shuddered.

' _So they_ were _lovers! I knew I called it,'_ Roman thought.

Yang, Russel, Nikos, and Jaune all left as a group as well, with the blond-haired boy glancing back at the classroom once. The other students left in the classroom seemed overall unremarkable, but he could not write them off as possible suspects. Before, he only had a small amount of applicants to worry about.

Now, he realized, there could be dozens of students in the school with ties to the criminals he'd sold out. It finally hit him. More than he'd ever been, he was surrounded.

Potential enemies everywhere.

Ozpin didn't care to stop them. He'd let them in if he felt Roman could prove himself against his assailants, so long as no other students were injured. That initiation, and the gag order Ozpin gave afterwards, proved that much. Roman began to shake.

Surrounded.

If not by Ozpin, he'd be killed by Cinder or one of the other criminals he pissed off if he left. All he had were vague reassurances that most of his former 'friends' wouldn't kill him outright. He didn't know for sure. He'd be killed if he stayed.

Could he even trust Neo?

If somebody offered to double her pay if she killed him, then she'd likely take them up on the offer. The only real bond he had with Neo was his wallet, but Roman had no income at the moment. It would be so easy for somebody to offer more permanent employment for double the rate. He literally couldn't afford to rely on loyalty from her.

Neo could get him killed.

Ruby could be fooled into giving him poison and the same could be said of Weiss. He could fall victim to a poison dart. Poison while he slept. Poison in his food or in his drink, slipped in if he turned away for even a second. The poison could be a gas. He couldn't be alone. But he had to be alone. If Neo tested his food but lied about it being poisoned, then he'd die. Warning Ruby or Weiss about the poisoner risked completely changing the method of death and forcing the hand of the killer. If things maintained the status quo, then, at the earliest, he had two week window with which to act.

An old, familiar feeling crawled up the back of his skull.

The only person Roman Torchwick could trust was himself.

Only himself.

Like it had always been.

Like it would always be.

Always. Everyone always wanted to prey on him, but he wasn't prey anymore so they could all just leave him alone and go on with their own fucking miserable lives and leave him to be finally fucking alone and safe in this shitty world where even being pissed about how shitty it was got you killed and even when he toughened up finally and stopped giving a shit they wouldn't leave alone and go on with their own fu—

 _Slap!_

Pain sprinted through Roman's cheek and he now saw Neo staring up at him, her hand still out. He took his hand away from his neck, noticing the glistening red on his fingernails. Roman reached a hand up to his neck and felt a familiar, wet warmth. A small scratch on his neck. A few of the remaining students looked up at him curiously before going back to their business.

Neo held her hand vertically, fingers straight, and placed it against Roman's stomach. He got her message. Coughing, he adjusted his hat and fixed his posture. He was Roman Torchwick, master thief and manipulator. He was in control. His Aura healed the scratch on his neck and he wiped away the blood with his sleeve. He was in control.

"Thanks for bringing me out of it again." He reached for his wallet to give her a bonus, but Neo shook her head.

"A freebie? How very unlike you," Roman commented as he grabbed her by the shoulder and steered her with him. Together, they finally started to leave the classroom. Moving their way past their classmates and into the broad halls of Beacon, Roman and Neo walked without a word passing between them for a few minutes.

"It was poison last night," Roman whispered. "I couldn't breathe. Don't know how it got into my body. Look into it."

Beside him, Neo nodded.

"And don't even think about cutting any deals with anybody else. We're both wanted," he whispered. "Especially after you fucking doubled the size of the bomb." Neo giggled at that.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you created a lot of loose ends," Roman whispered. "Loose ends are the last thing I need."

She tugged on his jacket and stopped him. Moving to stand in front of him again, she did the same gesture, hand vertical and right up against his stomach. It wasn't any type of sign language from what Roman knew of it. She had done it when they had first met, back when he first hired her. It was the terms of her contract.

He remembered the girl covered in dirt and blood. The girl who stood wordlessly over a hole-filled corpse with sublime madness in her eyes and the glint of half-rusted steel in her grimy hands.

" _That's my knife. You can keep it, of course, but I'll need a new one,"_ he had said back then.

Roman looked down at the small hand in the knife-hand position pressed against his stomach and couldn't help himself from smirking. He didn't need to trust her. He needed to trust the terms of his contract with her. They'd been through sticky situation time and time again and she had never once betrayed him. Made things more difficult for a little extra dough, perhaps, but she never betrayed him. He trusted the honor in her greed.

"How about the two of us starting working on a plan, then?"

For a brief moment, Neo and Roman both smirked.

* * *

Weiss Schnee had been having a pretty awful week.

It was humiliating enough that her new team leader was a jerk _and_ had been hospitalized in the initiation, but she'd spent _hours_ on the phone with her father trying to explain what happened to all the Dust that had been stolen from her. Even now, when she was in the hall and heading to lunch in the break between classes, _he_ called her again.

 _{I may have been too harsh on you earlier, daughter. A theft does not make you completely incompetent and unworthy to be something as ridiculous as a Huntress. Not completely, at least. That was on the headmaster. He has compensated our family to the fullest extent for the incident.}_ His calm, powerful voice came through her Scroll, a hint of delight laced in his speech.

"Then you will kindly send me more Dust, Father? I would be honored by your graciousness," Weiss said, each syllable shaking the ice on her face slightly.

Her father laughed.

 _{Of course not, dear!}_

Weiss' icy expression cracked, the fingers in her hand curling into a fist before loosening. It was useless. It was her fault anyway.

"May I ask why, Father?" Weiss asked, her voice drained of emotion.

 _{You want to be a Huntress, don't you? From what I've been told, limitations will only make you stronger. You may still buy Dust with your allowance at the local stores. Of course, there's no need to remind you which brand you must buy.}_

Weiss held back a sigh of relief. While she didn't often use Burn Dust, it had its uses in imbuing her attacks with flames. Not having it would handicap her. At least she wasn't fully cut off.

"Your thoughtfulness and wisdom are appreciated, Father," she answered.

 _{If you ever want to give up on this charade, then you know what to do. Goodbye, my daughter.}_

He hung up. Weiss stood and stared at her Scroll for a while, and the ice on her face began to melt. Even though she left, she never really did, did she? Weiss couldn't afford to fail any more times. She had to prove to him that she could do it, that she was strong enough to be herself. More than that, the one who would fix the path of the Schnee Dust Company could only be her.

"H-Hey, are you okay?" A voice asked. Weiss pocketed her Scroll and looked up, meeting the blue eyes of Jaune now standing before her.

"I'm _fine_ ," she said, pushing past him and starting down the hall. He turned and began to follow her, matching her pace.

"Oh, you are? That's good. You just looked kinda, I dunno... really miserable? Does that have anything to do with that Jack guy?" Jaune asked behind her. Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"I know you. You're the coward who snatched up Pyrrha Nikos," Weiss said. Jaune rubbed the back of his head.

"You know, I think that's kinda harsh…"

"What makes you think how I'm doing now has anything to do with my team leader? Are you trying to find some sort of weakness, hmm? Trying to play the coward when you're surprisingly competent? Are you _already_ planning for the Vytal Festival Tournament?" Weiss asked, stopping her walking and crossing her arms. Jaune stopped beside her and shrugged.

"I, uh, just asked around. Some people say he's a bit of a... bully and I was worried. I _swear_ that's all. Can't a guy try to be there for a beautiful lady?," Jaune replied with a wink. Weiss sighed, ignoring the wink completely. She couldn't deny that Jack had a talent for pissing other people off.

"Whatever," Weiss said. "Just stay out of my business. I don't need your pity. I can take care of myself." Weiss walked past him and started down the hall again.

"Wait," Jaune called out behind her. "You never answered my question."

"It has _nothing_ to do with him," Weiss said, turning her head. "Just leave me alone."

She continued walking away.

* * *

"Alright! We're all going to do some bonding!" Ruby shouted at the lunch table. The cafeteria was bustling. Drinks were clinking, loud laughter rang out into the air, and the room was alive with chatter and tales from initiation and adventures from long ago. Cheer and joy were in the air as upperclassmen and lowerclassmen mingled and swapped stories. Ruby's eyes sparkled. They had a rough start, but that was all over now! Their fun-filled days started now.

Beside Ruby, Nilla clapped. Across from her, Jack had his arms around his food, watching everyone guardedly as Weiss absentmindedly poked at her food beside him, a somber sigh escaping her lips.

"Shut up, Red. I'm trying to focus," Jack said. He tossed a baby carrot over to Nilla who caught it in her mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, the tiny, black-haired girl gave a thumbs up. Weiss just sighed again.

Ruby pouted.

"Could you at least, I dunno, toss a piece of food my way?" Ruby asked. Jack shook his head as he tossed a piece of chicken over to Nilla, who caught it with almost inhuman dexterity. Nilla once more gave a thumbs up.

"This isn't a game, Red. If you're hungry, then steal Her Royal Sighness' potatoes. She clearly just wants to torture it with her fork. Do the heroic thing and grant them merciful deaths," Jack said before tossing a piece of potato at Nilla again. This time she had to jump straight up out of her seat to catch it in her mouth. She landed with a small poof and beamed at him with two thumbs up.

' _This sure looks like a game!'_ Ruby thought, scowling.

"We're supposed to be a team, right? We should really try getting to know each other, so, uh, we can work together better, Candle?" Ruby said, unsure of even her own words. They worked fine enough together when they took out the Deathstalker, but she couldn't stand _this_. Nilla was a friend enough, but Weiss didn't like her and she knew barely anything about Jack despite him being her partner.

"Fine," Jack said, looking up from his food and meeting Ruby's silver eyes with the one blue eye not covered by his brown hair. "What do you want to talk about?"

Ruby's throat seized up for a few seconds at the intensity in the eyes. Jack's whole body was tensed up. Ever since she saw him that morning, and even in the bits where she glanced at him in class, he looked ready to pounce on the nearest individual. Ruby coughed. She had the courage for this. She needed to have it.

"S-So, um, how about your weapon? It's like a cane, but it also has a grappling hook and it shoots stuff! What else does it do?" Ruby asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly. Jack raised an eyebrow, but, apparently thinking of something else, sighed and relaxed his shoulders.

"I can hit things with it, obviously. I prefer a blunt weapon. Feels better when you hit something with it. And the rounds for it are made of a special Dust compound that only _I_ know of," Jack explained. "It's called Melodic Cudgel."

Ruby's eyes turned to stars. This was what she was talking about! Communication! New information! Weapons!

"And mine is called Crescent Rose and it is a scythe and a sniper rifle and I designed it myself and I was wondering if you made yours yourself because then we could b—"

Jack held a finger to her lips, shutting her up. He pulled his finger away and wiped it on his napkin with a look of disgust.

"I'm never doing that again," he said under his breath before continuing, "I didn't _invent_ this weapon. I bought it from an auction. Its' previous owner was a genius composer who used it to get around before he kicked the bucket. The composer also had a hobby of sailing and used Melodic Cudgel as a flare gun for that before his big fancy boat sunk into the ocean."

"Really?" Ruby asked. Her shoulders sunk low. Jack sighed again.

"Of course not, you idiot," Jack answered. "I was lying. Obviously."

Eyeing the still downtrodden Weiss who stared blankly at chicken like it was a deep secret of the universe, Roman reached over and smacked Weiss on the back of the head.

"Hey!" Weiss suddenly cried out, snapping out of her trance. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Less than five minutes left for lunch. I don't care about whatever angst you're feeling, but for the love of Remnant eat _something_ , princess. You're too old to play with your food," he said, turning back to his food. Weiss glared at him, but the fire in her eyes quickly faded as she began to quickly, and delicately, devour the meal in front of her.

"You're a jerk," she said between mouthfuls. Jack rolled his eyes again.

" _Please_ just call me an asshole. I feel like I'm bullying a five year old when you say that," Jack fired back. Weiss weakly punched him with her left hand, her right still busy on shoveling food into her mouth.

Ruby chuckled before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Nilla holding her Scroll up.

{Don't worry! I'm sure we'll all be the best of friends soon!}

Ruby smiled at that, but, out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the blond kid from initiation watching them. When she turned her head to fully see him, he was walking away with the red-head by his side.

What was that all about?

* * *

"Aye aye, sir!" Ruby said as she dashed off. Beside him, Weiss stopped and turned around, rolling her eyes as stabbed her rapier into the ground and brought up a wall of ice between them and the Grimm. Neo then snapped her fingers and he knew, even if he didn't know the nature of her illusion, that they were safe. He stopped, fell against the wall of ice, and breathed out. They could survive this.

Ruby would make it in time.

He breathed in.

And he breathed out.

He was Roman Torchwick, master thief and manipulator.

He was in control.

"Nilla!" Weiss cried out. The small girl had fallen to her knees and was clutching her throat, clawing at it as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Roman ran forward, scooping her up into his arms. Her black hair stayed dyed black, but her eyes turned back to their pink and brown colors as her body spasmed and a high-pitched whine squeezed out of her throat. Weakly, she placed one shaking hand against him in the knife-hand position before she lost all strength and her hand fell to the ground.

"Damn it, don't die on me! Remember your contract! Don't you _dare_ die on me now, Neo! I knew it had to be poison, but even yo—?!"

His throat was cut off as something wrapped itself around his neck. For a moment, he saw Weiss look at him with terror and worry. And then he started to be dragged away at an incredible speed, his body skipping across the dirt and ice from Weiss' attack. With every inch he moved and every stone he hit, his Aura dropped. His weapon was left next to Neo's body and he reached out towards it, feeling like he should have had some way to get it from a distance, yet for some reason he couldn't. The princess tried to chase after him, but several figures dressed head-to-toe in black descended from the shadows of the trees above them and surrounded her.

"Get out of my way!" Weiss yelled as she stabbed one of them, her rapier passing through one and turning it into mist.

That was all he could see before Roman was suddenly yanked upwards into one of the many red trees of Forever Fall and the hoard of Ursa that had been approaching surged beneath his feet, completely covering the several figures from earlier, Weiss, and Neo. He kicked and struggled, clawing at the device around his neck before it began to glow yellow, shocking him with electricity and sends spasms through his body.

"You can stop struggling, Roman Torchwick," a feminine voice from behind him said. "You've already lost. Oh well. I guess _he_ was wrong about you. You're not competent. You're just lucky."

The weapon around his neck tightened before briefly loosening.

"If you... were… after me… then why did you… poison her?" He asked with the last of his breath. The voice laughed.

"So those are your last words? Poison? I'd rather kill you myself. I'd never let poison do the work _for_ me," the voice said. And then he was turned around suddenly, and came face-to-face with a freckled, brown-haired girl he'd never seen before holding the end of the whip wrapped around his neck. "Ilia has killed you today. Cinder sends her regards. So do the families of the people that died by _your_ bomb. Have a fun time in Hell."

And then she pulled hard on the whip and broke his neck.

* * *

Roman woke up in his bed, hands around his neck, panting heavily. Like the previous night, he breathed air into his burning lungs. The outside of his neck still felt burnt by the electricity. He covered his face with his pillow to try to stop the tears flowing out of his eyes. It wasn't because of sadness that he sobbed or because of a feeling of loss.

Roman didn't know exactly why he cried that night. Maybe it was because of the unfairness of it all. Maybe it was because he'd been strangled so hard.

Maybe it was because he finally knew he could trust Neo, or at least his contract with her, for certain.

He had definitive proof that he had one ally in this.

He wiped the tears away and his eyes hardened.

More than one attacker. More than one method. He wouldn't know until the next night if there were more attempts to be made on his life, but his mind was whirling.

This time, he'd kill his killers. No mercy, no accidents. No matter how many, he'd destroy them. And, in the dead of night surrounded by his sleeping teammates, Roman smirked as a scheme began to form in his head.

A terrible, awful, wonderful scheme.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay. Had to figure out all the possible paths. This one is far more complex than the last and there is still more to it yet to be shown. A lot of Neo this chapter. Kinda needed to be. Hasn't really been enough of a Neo presence in this story so far and Roman really needs to be able to trust his partner if he is to have a chance of surviving at all.**

 **Sorry about any typos. This went under a few revisions, so there might be some remnants ;) from earlier versions.**

 **Question of the Chapter:** **What's the best prank you've ever seen? :)**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	8. Exhuming

**Chapter 6: Exhuming**

* * *

 **A/N: And now we take the perspective away from Roman for a while… and shed light on a new perspective.**

* * *

 _You remember you were nameless. Hopeless. Alone._

 _You remember the world being too big. You remember being too small. Those smiling faces and pretty places weren't for you. Runt. Brat._

 _You remember being broken from birth. Defective. Discarded._

 _You remember sitting on the street corner, your eyes the only way of expression that you knew. Hatred. Emptiness._

 _You remember his face, his words, his everything. Obsession. Deception._

 _You remember that you saved his life and he hired you. He forgot you. Murder. Loneliness._

 _You know that you are his knife. Neo. Nilla._

* * *

 _ **~Ruby~**_

* * *

"Red, I need your help."

Those were the first words Jack said to the blurry-eyed Ruby as the day began. Wiping the sandman's sand away from her eyes, Ruby blinked once at the tall man who stood over her bed. Then twice.

"Really?!" Ruby yelled. Jack winced, but kept his arms crossed.

"It's too early for that!" Weiss, already dressed for the day and busy performing maintenance on her rapier, shouted back from her corner of the room. In the bed next to Weiss, Nilla pulled herself out of from her sheets and yawned, small tear drops forming in the corners of her eyes. She had a pink and brown nightcap and pajamas on with little ice cream cones dotted all around it. Ruby couldn't help but think of how soft Nilla looked.

"You just shouted back!" Ruby shouted back. Jack sighed and put his fingers to his ears.

"I _will_ slap at least one of you later," Jack said. He removed his fingers from his ears after waiting for a moment to see if anybody wanted to yell again. Nilla opened her mouth wide in an imitation of the yelling, but of course, no sound came out. She winked at Jack.

"Back to the topic, Red. You said you invented that weapon of yours, right? That means you must be somewhat competent at making weapons," Jack said. How rude! Ruby was very competent at making big booms! ...Ruby decided not to say that.

"When it comes to making super cool weapons, I'm the best!" Ruby boasted, pointing her thumb at herself with pride. Jack smirked and scratched at the vambrace on his right arm.

"I have a few... ideas for some things, Red. Let's work together on them. I can secure a good workshop for us in the near future," Jack said. Ruby's eyes lit up. This was it! Common ground between them!

"I'd love to! Oh my gosh, this will be so fun!" Ruby squeed. Jack rolled his eyes, but Ruby couldn't stop herself from smiling. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted Nilla looking on from a distance, a peaceful smile on her face. And, for a moment, a smile spread across Jack's face too. The first that Ruby had seen that wasn't a smirk or filled with some sort of malice.

"If you're all done standing around and smiling like a bunch of idiots, we have to get going," Weiss interrupted, sheathing her rapier.

Nilla stuck her tongue out at Weiss, but still grabbed the heiress' hand and walked out with her. The small girl waved goodbye at them before the door closed behind her.

"Since when did they become such good friends?" Ruby asked, picking up Crescent Rose and feeling the familiar weight of her old friend in her hands.

Jack shrugged.

"For most people, she's the easiest person in the world to get along with. She never talks back, she listens, and she's friendly around the people she wants to be friendly around," Jack said. Ruby tilted her head.

"Around the people she wants to be friendly around?" Ruby asked. Jack smirked.

"Don't get on her bad side, Red. You'll never leave it." He moved towards the door. "Get ready. I'll be waiting for you outside. I'd prefer for us to travel in pairs."

Ruby nodded.

' _Of course! If we travel in pairs, then we can work on becoming better friends by hanging out all the time! Jack Candlestick, you are a genius. A big jerk sometimes, but also a genius.'_ Ruby hummed happily as she proceeded to gather her things and Jack went outside.

Today was starting out great!

* * *

 _ **~Weiss~**_

* * *

"You're an asshole," Weiss said. Jack sighed happily.

" _Finally_. I missed being called that," he responded.

The two were sitting next to each other in class this time in Miss Glynda Goodwitch's combat class. The classroom had a deep pit in the center of it with seats around the outside of the pit for the students to sit. At the beginning of class, Miss Goodwitch had announced that the Vytal festival being in a few months and told them there would be new arrivals soon. Currently in the pit, Nilla was embarrassing Russel as she danced around him, making consecutive, light hits on him.

"Did you _really_ have to smack me on the back of the head that hard yesterday? You're just so… Ugh!" Weiss clenched her fists, unable to really find the proper words. "I can't believe I saved your life."

Jack chuckled.

"You and me both, princess," Jack said, folding his arms behind his head. "And, if I'm to be perfectly clear with you, I prefer you being pissed off. None of that mopey, teenage angst. Nobody gets anything done when they're like that. I don't know or care about what had you so upset, but even I need a smack from time to time. It helps, princess."

Weiss sighed heavily.

' _I just cannot understand this man.'_

"That was an awful way to try to help me," Weiss said, her eyes now suddenly more interested in the ground.

"That one was a freebie. The only real helping hand the world will give you with no strings attached. If you want more, then you have to _take_ it," Jack said. Weiss looked up at him and saw him staring in the distance, his eyes seemingly focused on something far away. Noticing Weiss staring at him, Jack coughed and scratched at his throat before turning his attention to the fight in the pit. "Whatever. I don't care that much anyway. It was as much for me as it was for you. Your sighing was getting on my nerves."

Weiss couldn't say anything else in reply. She didn't have much experience socially other than the many associates of her family who always said one thing but obviously meant another. Sometimes she could tell when people were hiding their intentions behind a web of lies. Normally, they acted pleasant, but were much more sinister inside. With Jack, she…

She just couldn't read him. Lies and truth might just be the same thing to him for all she knew.

"Kick his scrawny ass already, Nilla!" Jack suddenly shouted, snapping Weiss out her thoughts.

In the pit below, Nilla smiled. Covered in sweat, Russel faced her, his daggers ready. He lunged at her again and tried to stab her, but she ducked under his attack and jabbed him hard in the stomach with her closed umbrella before pulling the hidden sword out of the sheath. Russel's eyes opened wide and he doubled over in pain only for Nilla to kick her umbrella sheath up and hit him under the chin. She then leapt onto his chest and forced him to the ground where she kept her sword up against his neck.

"I-I-I give up, man!" Russel cried.

Around the stands, the students began to chatter. Some mocking Russel and others praising Nilla, while Miss Goodwitch criticized battle. Ready to write down notes on the battle and how she could possibly incorporate the strategies Nilla employed, Weiss' hand froze as Jack interrupted.

"You should train with Nilla in the morning," Jack suggested, his eyes scanning the people in the seats around the pit. "She may be small, but she's strong. You also both have swords." Jack sighed. "I really don't know why so many people these days are obsessed with _swords_. They're so _boring_."

"Mine is a _rapier_ , Jack," Weiss asserted, dismissing his eye roll that followed. "That being said, it would be best if we practiced our teamwork. I think there is a lot that Nilla and I could learn from each other." She paused. "Does this have something to do with you asking Ruby for help? Are you planning something?"

Jack smiled.

"I'm always planning something."

"...It better not be an assassin again," Weiss whispered. "Keep them away from my things." Weiss didn't know exactly why people were after his life, but Jack _was_ an asshole.

Jack stayed silent, of course.

' _Oh, come on!'_

"I was _joking_. Why are people after you anyway? This team can't function if its leader—"

"You want to be the best Huntress you can be, right?" Jack suddenly said. His voice was devoid of its usual arrogance. Weiss paused, confused.

"I don't see how that has anything to do with this."

Jack leaned back into his chair and stared into the pit of the arena where another two students were getting ready for another combat test. His eyes were focused, his voice smooth.

"The people after me are scum. Criminals of the worst kind. I pissed them off, princess, because I did the right thing and reported on some of them. Now, despite being an upstanding citizen, I thought it better to flee to the safety of Beacon. Unfortunately, Beacon is doing a poor job of looking out for me. Now you and I have a grand opportunity. We can sharpen our skills against these powerful individuals. We'll win the Vytal Festival for sure when we're done with them," Jack whisper-monologued.

Weiss sighed.

"That was an awful speech. _Why_ did I save you again?" Weiss asked. This time she knew for sure there was something off about him. Something beyond him being a dramatic, narcissistic asshole.

She felt like she _should_ be angry that she's stuck with a leader that will put their whole team in danger. Like she _should_ go straight to Headmaster Ozpin and demand her team be changed. However, the Headmaster had pulled her aside and told her something after he made her and Nilla promise to be silent.

" _You must stay on his team. He has chosen you. There are various circumstances revolving around Jack Candlestick. Be close to him, judge his character, and report to me if you see him doing anything out of place. I'm counting on you, Miss Schnee."_

This was the task entrusted to her by the Headmaster. While she didn't understand the specifics, doing this job would get her in the good graces of the Headmaster and help her along on her path to becoming a good Huntress. She was sticking around for that golden opportunity. Not for him. Absolutely not for him.

"Simple, princess. Because you're a hero. And heroes make stupid decisions."

"You're a jerk."

"...Please go back to calling me an asshole."

"Never."

Weiss smirked back confidently at Jack, a stray thought running away from her.

' _If he is going to be with Ruby and Nilla is going to be with me, then is he trying to…'_

The sound of the bell broke her train of thought as class ended.

* * *

 _ **~Ozpin~**_

* * *

"You wish to create a Sparring Club?" Ozpin asked. Seated across from him in his office was Roman Torchwick, the thief whose actions defied expectations over and over again. Roman smirked at him and settled comfortably into the chair. Above them, the over-turning gears of the office continued unabated.

"You heard me. You _do_ have clubs, right?" Roman asked. Ozpin smiled and steepled his fingers.

"Clubs are typically reserved for second year students and above. However, in your case, I may be willing to make an exception so long as you follow the school policies and have at least three teams and a supervising teacher," Ozpin answered with that same smile. Having a teacher around to keep Roman under surveillance in his free time would only reduce the risk of Roman being harmed or harming others. In all fairness, this deal would be heavily slanted in Ozpin's favor.

Which only served to make the Headmaster suspicious.

"Is that all? I'll have that done in no time," Roman replied with that same unshakable confidence. Ozpin matched the thief's confidence with his own.

"And the club has to meet on a regular schedule so as to be productive, of course," Ozpin added. "Was there anything else you required? After that unfortunate accident in the initiation, I am more than willing to assist you in your path to rehabilitation," Ozpin lied.

"I need access to the Advanced Weapon Creation lab in the mornings. I read the list of classes quite a few times in the months I've been trapped here." Roman smirked.

Ozpin's expression remained in that same smile, but he felt a seed of worry sprout deep within him. Even if Roman had spared one child's life, he still could not be sure Roman didn't have bigger plans.

"Ruby will be with me," Roman added, the barest hint of desperation surfacing in his voice. Ozpin took a drink from his mug, letting the hot cocoa warm his body before he answered.

"No. Absolutely not,. You will get there in your second year," Ozpin answered. Roman visibly deflated at that, but Ozpin didn't dare to let his guard down. The school year had only just begun. The thief in front of him was still a very dangerous individual. Roman sighed, and stood.

"First you let an assassin into Beacon, then you give me a faulty vambrace that's supposed to help me, and now you're denying me access to the lab? Tsk, tsk, Ozpin. There are better ways to kill me," Roman said, shaking his head. Ozpin drank from his mug again.

'… _He is only bluffing,'_ Ozpin assured himself.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Torchwick," Ozpin said. "Would you care to repeat those baseless accusations again?"

Roman laughed.

"Even if I did have evidence, would it make a difference?" Roman asked. "You're in charge here. Who the hell am I supposed to report _you_ to?" Roman sat back down. "Point is, Ozzy, that there's nothing in this world that's really free. You expect me to believe in this oh so super special vambrace you gave me for surviving an assassin that you sent after me?" Roman sniffed and held his hands out front of him. "I get it. I do, really. You want to make sure I'm up to snuff. Good moral character or whatever. But if you want me to reform, then I need to survive, Ozzy."

Ozpin stayed still for a moment, examining Roman. In truth, the vambrace was another test as well, but he had never expected an answer this quickly. Every single expectation Ozpin had for Roman was being surpassed. He suppressed the smile that threatened to break out across his face.

"What are you so scared of?" Ozpin asked. Roman rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?"

And, to Ozpin, it was. Perhaps Roman had intended for him to think the answer was "death", but Ozpin could see past that. It was not just death that Roman Torchwick feared. Gambling wasn't a favored pastime of Ozpin's, but he felt the odds were in his favor in this instance.

"Fine. It will be unlocked one hour before class each day. Any attempts to cover up the security cameras in there will result in… Well, I am sure you would want the surprise for yourself," Ozpin said.

Roman smirked, but Ozpin could see the faintest lessening of tension, the smallest amount of relaxation visible in the thief's shoulders.

"Don't worry. I'll be good," Roman promised.

Ozpin knew _that_ was a lie.

"One last thing. How did you discover that the vambrace had been tampered with?" Ozpin asked. Roman had already turned and began to walk away. However, the thief said one last sentence as he exited Ozpin's office.

"I didn't."

Ozpin could hear the smirk in Roman's voice.

' _I knew he was bluffing,'_ Ozpin thought as a small smile crept onto his face.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

 _Darkness._

 _Muffled screams._

 _Roars._

 _Faint weeping beside him._

 _His arms and legs would not move. Warm blood leaked out of from his stomach, shoulders, knees. He tried to speak, but his mouth was gagged. Head throbbing. Where? Who? What?_

 _How?_

 _Knots too tight. Professional. No strength for dislocating arm. Nobody to lie to. No cheat up his sleeve, no stolen answer in his coat pocket. No killer who would gloat or blade jutting from his chest. There was only thunder in the distance._

 _Thundering footsteps that shook the ground he was laying on, bound and gagged._

 _Drawing closer._

 _Closer._

 _Close._

 _Why?_

 _The darkness exploded and collapsed._

 _Again, Roman Torchwick died._

* * *

 _ **~Neo~**_

* * *

Moonlight dances in from the window between your bed and his. You do not sleep well tonight. You do not feel brave enough to go back to your dreams, so you lay there, watching him die in his dreams. A part of you hurts.

He twists and jerks about in his bed in the dimly lit room. He sweats, clutches at his mouth, and lets out a silent scream before his body falls still. It must be painful for him. You hope that he is still alive. Uncertain, you slide out of your bed. Ruby and Weiss are both asleep in peaceful ignorance. You see his eyes flutter open and you just barely catch the curse he lets out under his breath. You step carefully towards him.

"I don't even know what that one was, Neo," he whispers to you. "Everything was dark. I must have been captured, bound, and gagged. I wasn't alone too. There was another captive. And whoever was behind it had experience. I don't think it was the two from before or even the poisoner from the first one. Doesn't seem like their style. The precise cause must have been the stampede. I could never forget the sound."

You sit on his bed right next to him. You place a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tremble underneath it. This is all that you can do. You wonder if he would expect you to ask for money for this service, but dismiss the thought. His body is covered in cold sweat and you can faintly make out drool leaking out the corner of his mouth that he quickly wipes away.

"We still have time. I can figure this out." He looks to you. You think that he is wondering if he can trust you to help. You form a knife with your hand and place it on his chest. He does not believe in anything. Not even himself. He shouldn't believe in you, but yet you still want him to.

Why?

He calms and his shuddering stops. His breathing evens.

"For now, we stick to the plan," he orders quietly. "Keep Weiss busy and under watch. I'll keep Ruby occupied. This much will stop the poisoner from killing me. But we still need to find the poisoner. They're my way out. I know it."

You nod.

These dreams have taken a toll on him. You have to be there to calm him when his paranoia flares up and he begins to panic. You have to be there to keep him sane. You have to be there because there is nobody else who will ever be there for him.

And you would like to keep it that way. He is yours to take from.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

 _ **~Ruby~**_

* * *

"This is so exciting! I can't believe you managed to get permission!" Ruby cried as they reached the Advanced Weapons Lab.

The lab itself was buried in the hallways of Beacon and was far away from all the main classrooms. The door to the lab was steel, larger and thick enough to fit a car through. Dark glass covered a horizontal slit at eye level on the door and Ruby got the impression it was for seeing who was at the door rather than who was inside the lab.

"You're very lucky," Jack said. "Ozpin was in a good mood."

Jack grabbed the long handle of the door and slid it sideways into the wall. The interior that greeted them reminded Ruby of a dream she once had. She stepped in. One wall was lined with large crates filled with machinery and parts from only the top arms manufacturers in Vale while the opposite wall had a several large tubs placed against it, each one filled to the brim with a type of Dust. There were five long, black tables surrounded by black chairs in the room and, while each table was currently clean, there were many different types of tools hanging on notches beneath each one. At the far wall, there five forges, complete with anvils, furnaces, and tubs for quenching.

The more she looked, the more she found to use for tinkering. They even had a premium Dust Injector 2000! It was the only Injector that could auto-correct the Dust injections into the material during the forging process and prevent self-destruction of the weapon via overheating while increasing the amount of time the Dust could maintain its crystalline form before the quenching process!

Noticing Jack was staring at her in disgust, Ruby wiped the drool from her mouth and coughed.

"This will do," she said, trying to act composed. It didn't work.

"I won't even attempt to guess what's in your head, Red," Jack said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out that strange vambrace from before. "We're going to tear this apart and make it better. In addition…" He paused for a moment. "I'd like to see if we could make a weapon I can use without moving my arms or legs."

"Oooh! Now _this_ sounds interesting! We have all these fancy gadgets and stuff in here, so let's see what we can do. Aaah, sweet tools. I've missed you," Ruby swooned as she spread her arms out before the lab in front of her. Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you can do this?" He asked, arms crossed. Ruby smiled.

"Did I ever tell you about how I helped build my sister's shot gauntlets? I have the basic idea down for what you might want with that thingy," Ruby said, pointing at the vambrace. "And as for the weapon…" Ruby cracked her knuckles. "Challenge accepted. I only have one thing to mention. My price."

Jack sighed again.

"How much?" He asked, reaching for his wallet. Using her Semblance, Ruby blurred and then appeared in front of him, her shorter form inches from him. She waved her finger at him.

"Uh, uh, uh! Here at Ruby Ultimate Destruction Weapons Incorporated,we only accept one kind of currency," Ruby said. She took a step backwards and smiled up at him with her arms crossed behind her head. "Tell me about yourself each day that we work on this stuff. Honestly. No lies or trying to mess with me."

Jack's eyes widened.

"Could you repeat that?" He asked in disbelief. Humming, Ruby walked over to one of the tables and began rifling through the hanging tools underneath.

"You are Nilla are super close. You and Weiss get along like best buddies—"

"We really don't," he interrupted.

"But what about me?" Ruby asked. "Even though she's very nice, Nilla doesn't talk and she doesn't really like to hang out with people. Weiss thinks I'm stupid and doesn't want to talk to me." Ruby's couldn't look up and see his eyes. She sniffled as she stared at the tools beneath the table. "And I know you think I'm an idiot too, but I'm strong, right? That's what your Semblance said. Knowing that much gives me strength, Candle. Maybe I really am stupid, but I want us to be friends. All of Team CRWN."

Missing the Nevermore had been devastating. There was no way it wouldn't be. She acted without thinking and embarrassed herself in front of all her future classmates. She wanted to prove everybody wrong and show them that she _was_ strong and the she was ready to be a Huntress, but she couldn't do it alone.

She heard a muffled thud as Jack sat at the table. She pulled her vision away from underneath the table and stood straight up. He was looking away from her. She sat down in the chair next to him.

' _Idiot! You shouldn't have said all that! Now it's super awkward! Gaaaaah, there had to be a better way to just say you want to be friends!'_ Ruby scolded herself.

"I need that vambrace altered and I need that weapon. I need you to be at your best too. This is all for my own sake, so don't get any hair-brained ideas. It's for me, not you," Jack said. Ruby's eyes brightened. This could be a start!

"I wasn't lying when I said I didn't invent Melodic Cudgel, Red," Jack explained. "But when I got it, it was just a cane. Nothing fancy. Just something somebody used to beat people with. The previous owner died."

"How did he die? Was he related to you?" Ruby asked quietly. Jack chuckled.

"We were strangers. He was just a rich man in the wrong side of the neighborhood. I'm sure that the Patch is a lovely place, Red, but people starve out in the real world. And sometimes all it takes is a hungry little girl with a rusty knife to kill you," Jack said, his eyes distant. "I found his cane and made it my own. It helps me remember just how easy it is to die."

"...Wow. That's really… Um, neat," Ruby said. "I was expecting us to start with favorite colors or something, but that's good too! Oh, well, not _good_ because that was really depressing and now I feel really bad for you, but I guess it's good that you told me?"

Jack sighed.

"There. You know more about me. My story's not a happy one, Red. Now let's get to work," Jack said, meeting her eyes. Ruby nodded.

She didn't know Jack, but she wanted to understand him. Maybe someday they would be friends. Ruby didn't want to give up on that. She was sure of it now. Just as she needed friends really badly…

Jack needed them too. He wasn't the only person whose story wasn't a happy one. She thought about talking to him about Mom, but stopped herself. She didn't talk to anybody about her. Ruby knew she wouldn't be able to work or do anything for the rest of the day if she brought Mom up.

"We have an hour before we should probably go back and grab my books!" Ruby rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the vambrace. "Until then, let's tear this thing apart!"

Ruby paused and looked at Jack.

"Um, what did you want done again?" She asked. He moved in closer to her.

"Two things. They're very simple things."

He explained it to her and she tilted her head.

"I understand the first thing, but the second thing is weirdly super specific," Ruby commented. Jack rolled his eyes. "I can still do it. It's just kinda weird."

The vambrace, while made to look like classical armor, still had screws, so Ruby immediately went to taking the thing apart. There wasn't much space, so it would be better to make it bigger. Maybe a little bit more like Yang's shot gauntlets? The only thing in there was a wire that would shoot out if the wrist was flexed in a certain way. However…

"Whoever gave you this really ripped you off," Ruby said. Beside her, Roman was already combining various vials of Dust, no doubt creating more of his special recipe shots.

"Really? How so?" Jack asked, stopping to turn to look at her. Ruby held up the vambrace and showed him.

"The wire is supposed to shoot out of the front of the vambrace and latch onto something, but the part that secures the wire to the interior of it is really loose. It's not easily fixed, either. The whole part was welded to the material shoddily," Ruby explained as she pointed out the small, metal piece. "One or two more shots and the part would come free and send the entire wire flying out of the front of the vambrace. You should really get a refund, dude."

Jack smiled as he looked around the lab.

"I already did."

* * *

 _ **~Neo~**_

* * *

Weiss stabs at you, but you dodge it with ease. She is overextending herself. Trying too hard. You laugh and you attack back with your own weapon. Your precious blade. Weiss is scared of you. You attack back, keeping in mind her Aura as you hit her. Using the momentum of your sword bouncing off of her Aura, you manage to hit her a few more times as you step around her blade, ending up behind her. You hold your blade up to her neck.

You smile as she turns her head to face you.

"It's my loss again," she says in between pants. You both are in the courtyard of the school. There are very few people here this early in the morning. In the distance, you see the sun peek over the mountains. You cover your eyes. You hate the sun.

"You're impressive, Nilla," Weiss says. You know she is the type who always compares herself to others. You know because you used to be the same. Weiss moves to sit on a nearby bench. You join her and sit beside her. You kick your feet in the air.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that? Did Jack teach you at all?" Weiss asks. You suppress a laugh.

You were not taught to fight. You were given a stick and told to win.

 _{Nope! I just trained super duper hard on my own!}_ You type on your Scroll. You hate typing. _He_ can understand you without the Scroll. You don't need it. You shouldn't need it.

But you do. And you hate it.

"My sister trained me," Weiss explains. "She always was strict. But I knew she just wanted me to be the best. I need to be the best. My family needs me to be the best."

You giggle.

 _{That's stupid.}_ You show her your message. She scrunches her nose and you know that she's about to get angry. You put a finger to her lips and continue typing with one hand.

 _{You can't be the best! Nobody is! Everybody just pretends to be. They're all very good liars.}_ You type with a smile. She pushes your hand away.

"I don't think that's true," Weiss says. Her eyes are heavy and her shoulders slump. You've seen this in him before. Sadness beating against the door of the heart. You almost feel bad for the girl, but you remind yourself that she had all the food in the world when she was a child. She had a warm bed.

 _{It is. The really strong people hide when they mess up. Everyone hides. Your family only wants you to be the best because they aren't the best, silly. The idea of family is a beautiful lie. Nothing more.}_ Your fingers are starting to cramp up.

Weiss looks at you curiously. You worry that you showed too much of your actual personality, but the worry fades. You don't think Ozpin has any cameras nearby. You checked beforehand, after all.

"I forgot that you lived on the streets. I'm sorry," Weiss apologizes. "I don't agree with you completely, but I think I'm starting to understand where you're coming from."

You roll your eyes. You thought she was the smart one.

 _{You don't understand anything.}_ Your fingers hurt.

"Maybe I don't," Weiss admits. You raise your blade again.

Enough talking.

* * *

 _ **~Jaune~**_

* * *

"How do you do it, Jaune?" Russel asked.

The mohawked man was face down on his bed in their dorm room with the blond boy he spoke to sitting nearby, reading a comic book. Pyrrha was checking her equipment in case she got called on for the sparring exercise today and Yang was napping on her bed fully-clothed after a morning of exercising with Russel. The room itself was tidy thanks to Pyrrha, but Russel and Yang made it difficult to keep it clean for long.

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Do what?" He asked. Russel raised his face from the bed. His eyes were bloodshot and deep bags had formed beneath them.

"Survive," Russel answered. Jaune stifled a laugh. Somehow, he ended up being the leader of team JRNY. Of course, he didn't think he deserved that title at all, but that was how things ended up. Pyrrha had been nothing but supportive of him ever since he met her, but he felt something in the pit of his stomach every time he looked at her. He knew what he did to get here. He didn't belong here. He didn't deserve her admiration.

"I dunno, man. I just kinda, well, breath, I guess? Your question is pretty vague," Jaune answered.

"Ugh!" Russel bit into his pillow. "It's not fair, dude! I get saved by the hottest chick in the school and she uses me like a soccer ball!" He raised his head and frowned. "And I have to tell ya, dude. I am _so_ not into that. This was why Mom always said to keep my Semblance a secret. But _nooo_ , I thought being able to change my weight on the fly was no biggie. All it really did was make me a little faster. I can't believe I was so wrong."

At this, Pyrrha, who had been silent for the whole conversation, chuckled.

"A Semblance is only as strong as the imagination of the person who wields it," she said. "And I do think that your particular ability has a lot of potential if applied correctly." She smiled at Russel peacefully. Russel covered his eyes with his hands and rolled off his bed.

"My eyes! You're too bright!" He shouted from between the beds. On the bed right next to him, Yang twitched. Like a deer in headlights, Russel froze. Then, the blonde sat up and stretched, letting a light yawn escape her throat.

"Good morning," Yang said, wiping her eyes. Seeing Russel, she grinned and tousled his hair. "Hey, Russ. Good job earlier. You really showed the wall who was boss, dude. You'll be tearin' through Grimm in no time."

Russel cleared his throat and stood.

"I am not a wall ball," he declared. Yang crossed her arms, her sleepy expression turning stern and solid. Jaune chuckled at that. So _that_ was what they were doing so early in the morning?!

"Perhaps using him to play a game is not actually training?" Pyrrha asked, unsure of even her own words. Yang shrugged.

And then she pushed Russel.

To everyone's surprise, including Russel himself, he didn't move an inch. He hadn't even assumed a stance of any kind, but his body was immovable. Looking closer, Jaune could Russel's feet making a much deeper impression in the carpet than it did before.

Yang smirked.

"Training up instinct is never pretty," Yang said with a wink. Russel sighed and fell back onto his bed before screaming in his pillow. Yang patted him on the head with a cocky smile.

Jaune grinned.

He wished he could be more like Yang and Russel. Carefree, yet focused on becoming a better Huntsman. Being in Beacon was a dream come true. Everything he wanted was all around him and he knew he had the ability to become a true hero. He could feel it in every bone in his body.

Yet…

Jaune knew he was a cheater.

Packing his things up, he went through the door, Russel following close behind. At the same time, he saw a girl in black and red step through her door across the hall with a few books under one arm. He saw the man who stood beside the door.

"I'm ready, Jack! Let's go!" She exclaimed cheerfully. Then, noticing Jaune in the doorway, she smiled at him. "Howdy, neighbor! Fancy meetin' you here." Jaune couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. This girl was so chipper.

"Move!" Russel shouted behind him before pushing him with the help of a sudden increase in weight. Jaune stumbled into the hallway and fell flat onto his face, letting out a squeak that was two octaves higher than it should have been.

"Of course we would meet them _here_ when we're _neighbors_ ," the man beside the door said.

"Heya," Russel said as he moved out of the doorway, followed by Yang and Pyrrha.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed.

Jaune figured the two would have run up and hug each other, but he was currently an obstacle in the way. He felt a slight tug on his back as Pyrrha lifted him up off the ground and put him back on his feet, dusting off his body and then granting him a smile before her eyes narrowed at Russel.

"Please be more polite, Russel," Pyrrha said. Russel shrugged and started to head off down the hall towards class. Yang ran up to Ruby and then two hugged before talking about how exciting it was that they ended up this close together. How lucky they were.

Jaune couldn't help but think of how "lucky" he was.

He stared up at the man beside the door.

The man who called himself Jack.

Jaune and Jack locked eyes for a moment before Jack extended a hand.

"I heard you did well in the initiation. Surprisingly so, apparently," Jack remarked. Jaune felt a bead of sweat begin to form on the back of his neck as he grabbed the hand Jack extended. Feeling that Jack's grip was unexpectedly strong, Jaune began to grab his hand back with as much force as he could muster. It wasn't enough to match Jack, but they shook and broke contact.

"Well, you know, I just had to put my game face on," Jaune said, awkwardly chuckling. Pyrrha placed a reassuring hand on Jaune's shoulder. It was slight, but Jaune noticed Jack glare past him at Pyrrha.

"Your game face, hmm? I'd like to see it some time, kid," Jack said with a smirk. He patted Ruby on the shoulder, interrupting her conversation with Yang. "We should get going."

The two of them left, Yang following and chatting with Ruby.

"He does not seem to like me," Pyrrha commented, touching her hand to her chin. Jaune put a hand to his chest, trying to stop his heart from beating out of his chest. His hand wandered slightly upward, feeling the small object hanging around his neck. His holy sword, his demon slayer, his evil's bane.

His poison.

Jaune knew he was a cheater.

* * *

 _ **~Ilia~**_

* * *

On the wall next to the door to Professor Oobleck's class, there was a sign posted. Ilia and Blake stood staring at it. Several feet behind them, Jaune and Pyrrha stood and stared at it too.

It read:

" _ **JOIN THE SPARRING CLUB! THE ONLY CLUB FOR FIRST YEARS! COME ONE, COME ALL! JOIN TEAM CRWN IN SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND TRAINING FOR THE VYTAL FESTIVAL! MEETING AFTER SCHOOL IN THE SPARRING ARENA! FOOD WILL BE PROVIDED! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE!"**_

Ilia smiled. This was either the biggest mistake Roman Torchwick made or the most obvious trap he could ever lay. She cracked her neck and looked over to Blake, who met her gaze with obvious distaste.

This would be fun.

* * *

 **A/N: Things are really going now. Went through a few different versions for how this chapter would go down, but I'm happy with it. Revealed that Jaune had poison, but that's not really the mystery this time around. There's a lot of moving parts for this one.**

 **Also unveiled Neo's perspective. It's intentionally very different. I hope you can figure out why I've made it so different.**

 **Thank you to everyone for being so supportive of this fic thus far.**

 **Mystery of the Chapter: You are in a locked room that is ten feet by ten feet. There is one window, but no door. The window is made of glass and locked, but the outside of the window is barred by thick iron bars. There is a bucket in the corner of the room filled with countless keys. The window is not breakable. Upon further inspection, most of the keys in the bucket look like copies of one another. Emptying the bucket onto the ground to sort through the keys easier, you find a message stuck to the bottom of the inside of the bucket.**

 **The message reads: You can wish for two items to appear in this room to aid in escape, but they both must be able to held in one hand and fit in a person's pocket. Which items do you wish for?**


	9. A hero

**Chapter 7: A hero**

 **A/N: Changed up the summary. The new one is fine, I guess.**

* * *

 _He remembered being smaller than the other boys at first._

 _He remembered being outnumbered and outmatched._

 _He remembered being beaten._

 _And then standing up. Investigating the boys. From shadows, he watched them beat others. Smaller children, weaker faunus, homeless. The boys took from them what they could._

 _He remembered that one lead with his right fist. Another with a kick. The third had poor flexibility. They all responded poorly to pain._

 _One day, those boys never bothered anybody ever again. He took from them what he could._

* * *

 _ **~Neo~**_

* * *

"And it would appear as if one of you had indeed been able to guess what our fabled field trip would be and I must congratulate them for correctly guessing that the location of our field trip in 12 days is none other than…" Professor Oobleck pauses to drink his coffee. "The forest of Forever Fall."

You smile. _He_ was right again. Some of the kids in the classroom cheer with excitement, but you're watching the crowd for the ones who smirk. The ones who see this as an opportunity. Unfortunately, the kid in front of you is throwing his arms up in the air and you can't see. You have never hated being short as much as you do now. Then again, it didn't matter. Those killers would show the same reaction of their surroundings if they were skilled. Those assassins.

Ah, how you wish you could have gotten your hands on Dove Bronzewing.

As Professor Oobleck goes back to his lecture on faunus history, you relax and begin to play with your Scroll beneath your desk. Faunus are fun, but you don't care for their history. You suppose that, in a way, you feel a sort of a kinship with the faunus. Just like them, you were born differently. However, you would gladly take having a tail over being mute. There are so many things you want to say and so many ways you want to say them.

Couldn't you just take somebody else's vocal chords?

Nevermind. You know it wouldn't be the same.

"Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?" Oobleck asks. Your attention is captured.

Three hands go up. One is some unremarkable boy in the back, the other is a rabbit faunus with brown hair towards the front, and the third is the floppy-eared one who calls himself Perry. You narrow your eyes at the floppy-eared boy. You don't trust him. Perry forced himself into a conversation with your employer. More importantly, after your employer explained how he had discovered that the killer was Dove, one fact stood out to you.

Perry told your employer about Dove's family while also appearing exactly after your employer encountered Dove for the first time. It couldn't be a coincidence. The only question is: Why? Is Perry an ally or an enemy? You know better than to assume that someone is an ally simply because they offer some information. It's much easier to assume that everyone you cannot trust with your life is an enemy. If those you trust with your life betray you, then you are just an idiot.

Still, you have no proof of anything related to Perry's true motivations, or even if the faunus had approached your employer on purpose. If you act rashly, you could expose your employer. He would get angry at you.

And then you'll lose your damn bonus.

You spend the rest of your class searching for information on the poison _he_ described to you on your Scroll. Like a good little criminal, you search through the hidden Underpath of the CCTS. You have grown to be somewhat well-versed in poisons, but all the natural poisons you know of tend to be instant. From what _he_ described, the poison could be a little delayed, but no more than a few hours.

The field trip is a perfect opportunity to get away with murder. The killer had to know about the field trip.

They had to be close enough to poison him without his knowledge. The poison itself appeared to be a form of neurotoxin that attacked the throat first before further disabling the body. Which meant it had to be ingested or breathed in. However, an airborne toxin could not go undetected in an open setting like a forest. It would disperse unless it was sprayed directly in his face.

They couldn't poison him in his sleep.

You've started to watch him when he sleeps.

Whatever the case, this poison does not line up with any natural poisons you can find.

And then you realize.

Class ends and he talks to you about his Sparring Club, but you only subconsciously take notes down. He tells Ruby and Weiss about his Sparring Club, but your mind is too preoccupied. Ruby seems happy and Weiss berates him for not consulting her, but the words escape you.

The reason you can't find anything on this poison is because it is not natural. This poison has been tampered with, mixed with a few different inhibitors and compounds to delay death. This isn't the work of an amateur, but an expert. Taking away the aspect of time, it's a lethal neurotoxin. In the criminal underground, there's one well-known neurotoxin comes to mind that disables one part of the body before spreading and leading to death.

Death Stalker venom.

You message your findings to him and smile.

* * *

 _ **~Blake~**_

* * *

With Ilia by her side, Blake sighed as she exited the classroom. It was uncomfortable enough having to hide her ears behind the bow on her head, but the topic of faunus history and discrimination was always a sensitive one. Making the faunus who felt discriminated against raise their hands was just the teacher singling them out. More than that, the faunus were dismissed so easily.

It was almost enough to make her miss Menagerie.

' _Things used to be so much simpler. Just us against the world,'_ Blake thought as she glanced at her former friend. They were fighting for something back then and Blake couldn't help but admit that it felt good. She had purpose. Even though her parents had warned her, she felt like she was doing the right thing. Maybe she had been angry. Maybe she hadn't been thinking clearly. Either way, all she had now was regret.

' _It wasn't 'justice'. The White Fang is corrupted.'_

"Well, how was that, boss? Make you miss anybody?" Ilia asked, still in her Perry disguise. Blake shook her head.

"No. I'm focused on looking forward," Blake said. Ilia frowned.

"I've made peace with you running away. But please just call it what it is. Running," Ilia said, the jokey tone of Perry fading for a moment. There was a softness in her eyes that made Blake hurt for a moment, but she didn't let it show on her face. Ilia had spent so much time in disguise that Blake doubted the chameleon faunus even remembered how to be genuine. She wouldn't fall for Ilia's "sincerity".

"Then you do the same," Blake said. "You're only fighting for revenge, not equality. Don't try to act like you're more mature than me."

Ilia tensed and for a moment Blake thought her former comrade was going to attack her right there. Gritting her teeth, Ilia glared at Blake.

"You think you have any right to look down on m—"

"SURPRISE HUG TACKLE!" Nora suddenly shouted as she tackled Blake to the ground from behind, sending the black-haired girl facefirst into the ground. Holding onto Blake's back, Nora squeezed her.

"Nora, please. You are being rude," Ren chided as he walked from further down the hall to join them. Lie Ren. The black-haired and pink-streaked boy in green who led their little team. He spent most of his time being Nora's leash and trying to contain her overwhelming amounts of energy and positivity. He didn't necessarily have the charisma or presence necessary to be called a leader, but that was most likely why he was assigned as one in the first place. To grow.

And Blake had to admit that his presence was calming.

Pouting, Nora got off Blake and skipped over to Ren's side. Ren gave a slight wave to "Perry".

"Hello, team. I think we should go to that Sparring Club. We should take every chance we can get to become stronger," Ren said, a small smile in his otherwise monotone voice.

"And they have free food!" Nora chimed in. Blake pushed herself off the ground and dusted herself off. Readjusting her bow and hoping nobody noticed her ears twitch beneath it, Blake nodded. She had to agree with Ren.

Not only would this be a good chance to train with her team, she could gather info on and even meet Roman Torchwick for herself. If Ilia was telling the truth, he should be irredeemable. However, Blake suspected that there was much to this than that. Students were given free reign to leave and go to Vale after class. Not to mention all the leaves for future missions. Ilia could have killed him whenever he left Beacon.

What did she need to be a student for?

"I'm down for it," Blake said, nodding at Ren. Ilia folded her arms behind her head.

"Weeell, if everyone else wants to go, then I'll go too," Ilia said before letting out that awful fake laugh.

"Oh, I _love_ that laugh!" Nora squealed. Ilia and Blake exchanged a glare before walking down the hall with the rest of their team.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

"It appears we have quite the turn-out!" Roman exclaimed, gazing out at the two teams before him. Dressed in their armor and wielding their weapons, it looked as if the gathered teams were a small strike force attending a briefing. He couldn't hide the smile that rose to his face.

The rest of CRWN was lined up beside up at the front of Glynda's "classroom", also known as the arena. Of course, convincing Glynda to give him use of this room had not been easy, but all he had to mention was that she could keep watch over this club that had been approved by Ozpin. In that way, he met one of the requirements for the club's formation. While they were all gathered in the pit, Glynda sat in the stands up above and on the opposite side of the pit, facing Roman with a tablet-sized Scroll in one arm. Noticing her glare, Roman winked at her.

Of course, he had no doubts that Ozpin intended to use her to keep an eye on him.

"I mean, we only have two other teams. I don't think it's that much of a turnout." Ruby asked.

Indeed. Despite saying that there would be free food, rumors had apparently already spread that Roman was an asshole. Typical. This, of course, worked in Roman's favor. He stared out at the others gathered in the pit. ROBN and JRNY. Both teams passed the initiation with him and had been there for the Death Stalker attack.

"You still could have told us about this before suddenly springing it on us," Weiss commented, arms folded. Beside her, Neo grinned. Roman laughed.

"Now where would the fun be in that, princess?" Weiss rolled her eyes at that. Roman turned back to the other teams. They were each staying close to the members of their respective teams. How fitting.

"Welcome all, to the very first meeting of the Sparring Club!" Roman said, spreading his arms wide. "I am Jack Candlestick. Leader of CRWN and the newly-appointed president of this club. So long as you all fill out the proper paperwork and sign up, we'll be officially a club that will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. Attendance is optional, but encouraged." He tipped his hat and smirked. "As for today's activities, we will be doing one on one sparring matches. Two people will battle and the winner will remain in the arena. Then another person can challenge the winner. We go until everybody gets a chance to fight. Oh, and standard rules go. Stop when Aura is low. No murder, please," Roman joked.

Roman looked out towards the other teams. A few seemed disgusted by his joke, but nobody showed a reaction out of the ordinary.

"And I'll lead by example. I'm going first in this little sparring exercise. Any questions?" Roman asked.

' _Let's analyze you all one by one,'_ he thought as he cracked his neck.

"Yes! I have a question!" A voice shouted, breaking the silence. Roman looked to see a redheaded girl with a bright smile raising her hand. "When's food?!" Beside her, a boy with black hair shook his head with a gentle smile.

Roman glanced over at Neo and nodded at her.

"A half hour. Nilla here will be leaving to go make it in the kitchens. However, she is rather small, so she could use somebody else's help," Roman explained. At that, a few hands raised up. The hyperactive girl who spoke earlier, the black-haired girl from the initiation (fancy meeting her here), Nikos of all people, and Jaune.

Roman had little to no interaction with the hyperactive girl, so she was unlikely. The black-haired girl, while highly suspicious, had more often followed Perry around than Roman. Still, he couldn't afford to cross her off his list just yet. So then it was between the blondie and Nikos.

The two people who led the Deathstalker straight towards the group during initiation.

"No, no, no," Roman said, pointing at them in turn before finally stopping at Jaune. "You. Mr. Game Face. Show Nilla that 'game face' of yours in the kitchen."

Jaune saluted.

"I will do my best, sir!" Jaune exclaimed, showing his 'game face', which twitched nervously as he attempted false confidence.

"This one's a suckup, boss!" Perry shouted from his team.

"Like you're one to talk," Roman said as he shook his head. Perry stuck his tongue out at Roman and the black-haired girl beside Perry sighed.

"Let's just get this party started," Yang said as she smashed her fists together.

"I agree," Weiss said. She took a few stepped forward and drew her rapier from her side before pointing it straight at Roman. "So how about we start? You versus _me."_

Roman smirked.

"Before that, how about introductions? It unfortunately gets confusing if I just say, 'Hey, you!' all the time." Roman suggested. Ruby jumped up at this.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Ruby Rose! Let's all get along and become friends!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Weren't you the girl who missed that Nevermore completely?" Russel asked with a laugh. Ruby's eyes immediately found the ground and her smile faded. At this, Yang dropped a fist on his head, knocking him to the ground. Swearing and dusting himself off, Russel stood back up. "Whatever. I'm Russel Thrush. I got dragged here against my will, but I guess I'll eat your food."

"I'm Yang Xiao Long," Yang said with a smile as she clutched Russel's head with one hand. "Ruby's my sister and I'm a bit of a thrill-seeker. I hope you all are strong."

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos," Nikos said, stepping forward. "You all have probably heard of me already, but please do not feel intimidated. I simply want to get along with all of you."

"My name's Jaune Arc and, um, I want to be a hero," Jaune said, scratching his cheek. Nikos put a reassuring hand on Jaune's shoulder. "And I'm the, uh, leader of team JRNY."

' _Those two are already close. Both Russel and Jaune found significantly stronger partners. If either of them had found those partners intentionally, then they could be using them to cover their own weakness. Just like I snagged my teammates, somebody else could be cheating,'_ Roman thought.

Roman eyed Neo off to his side, who was typing notes in her Scroll while looking like she was playing games. At least, he hoped she wasn't playing games. She was hard to read, even for him.

"I am Lie Ren, leader of team of ROBN. A pleasure to make all of your acquaintance," the black-haired boy said with a slight bow.

"Nora Valkyrie, at your service!" Nora said, posing with one fist up in the air. "Let's get to some good ol' fashioned brawling already!"

"Blake Belladonna," the black-haired girl said. "Nice to meet you all."

"This one is Perry Owens, bosses and lady-bosses," Perry said with a grin. "Please be patient with a lowly faunus such as myself."

Roman could have Neo dig around and see what info she could pull later on _these_ individuals.

"This is my cousin, Nilla Stracolate. She can't speak, but don't think that inhibits her in any way," Roman said, pointing to Neo, who waved briefly before going back to her Scroll. "And last but has too much money to be least is—"

"Weiss Schnee," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "I bet they already all know my name already. The Schnee Dust Company's reputation precedes me."

Perry laughed at that, causing Weiss to glare at him. Perry kept a grin on his face, however.

"Whatever. Can we just start now?" Weiss asked.

Roman smiled.

"Bring it, princess."

* * *

 _ **~Weiss~**_

* * *

Although Weiss praised Jack's abilities, she didn't have much to go off of. While he could organize and lead a team, she needed to see how capable he was in combat. So, of course, it made perfect sense to her that she would be the first challenger. They could set an example for the whole club this way. It was clearly the most logical option.

Also, she _really_ wanted to hit him.

"Begin!" Miss Goodwitch called from above. The other students were seated above, looking down at the fight. Nilla and Jack stood across from her, twirling his cane and smirking.

"First one is all yours, princess," he said offering up one side of his face for her to smack.

"You'll regret that," Weiss replied. Summoning a glyph beneath her feet, she dashed at Jack and thrusted her rapier at him, but the man sidestepped her attack and let her continue past him.

"Unlike, Ruby," Weiss said as she summoned more glyphs in midair and bounced off them to dash back at Jack, this time from behind. "I can move in more than just a straight li—!"

A firework shot met Weiss head on, interrupting her. Letting out a cry, Weiss was sent flying from the blast and hit the wall. Recovering and landing on her feet, she saw Jack with his back still towards her, Melodic Cudgel rest on his shoulder.

"See, here's the thing about hereditary Semblances, princess," Jack said as he turned around. "Everything that you can do has been done before. And better. You'll need to be a bit more creative if you want to beat me."

Stabbing her rapier into the ground, she activated her rapier and a giant glyph appeared underneath Jack. Jack clicked his tongue and jumped forward as a wall of ice rushed up from where he was. Not wasting a second, Weiss spun Myrtenaster's barrel to Burn dust and swung her rapier, sending a wave of flames toward Jack, who grinned.

And then jumped into the flames.

"Are you insane?!" Russel cried from the stands above.

Jack emerged from the other side, his Aura still high and a smirk on his face.

"Oh! Nevermind! That was actually pretty cool, dude!" Russel shouted.

"We really don't need a running commentary, Russel," Yang said.

"Wrong move, princess. I have experience being burned," Jack said as he closed the distance and swung Melodic Cudgel at Weiss. The heiress parried his attack with Myrtenaster and thrust it at Jack, who responded by smacking it aside with his cane. The two exchanged a flurry of thrusts and parries as Jack continued to taunt her.

"If I were a newly-born Grimm, I'd be dead already," He said as he ducked under a thrust. "But I'm not. Allow me to educate you, princess." He swung Melodic Cudgel towards her temple, but she dodged. "You think of combat too simply." He jabbed his cane at her stomach and this time landed the hit. She countered with a thrust that impact his shoulder and the two were pushed a few feet apart.

"You have so much potential, but you just don't know how to use it yet, princess. You have to grasp your opponent's weakness and use it against them," Jack said, reaching into his coat pocket with one hand. "Or just cheat."

"Shut up," Weiss said. "We're here to fight, not talk."

Jack laughed.

"If you're listening to me, then you're already losing, doll," Jack said.

Weiss rushed him again, but then Jack leaned back and let the blade pass over his head, pulled his closed fist out his pocket. He opened his hand, throwing sand straight into Weiss' eyes, blinding her. With one hand wiping her eyes, Weiss lashed out blindly. Using his cane, Jack hit her in the stomach, side, and then he sweeped her legs out from under her. Once she finally could see again, Weiss was staring down the barrel of Melodic Cudgel.

"The winner," Miss Goodwitch said with disdain, "Is Jack Candlestick. You never forbade the usage of hidden weapons or items. How sneaky."

The crowd booed, but Jack shrugged and put Melodic Cudgel down.

"Stand up," he ordered. Gritting her teeth, Weiss stood to her feet. Of course Jack wouldn't extend a hand to her to help her up. He took a step closer towards her.

"You're smart," Jack whispered, "But your attacks are slow to adapt. You concentrate so much that you lose focus when something unpredictable happens. Here's my advice. For people like us, fights are either won or lost before they're ever started. Tell me: Why do you think I had Nilla spar with you earlier? You'll never lose if everything is predictable."

' _So it was more than just using her to watch over me. Is that what this Sparring Club is, Jack? Are you using it so you can plan on how to beat everyone here?'_ Weiss thought. She paused, feeling a bolt of lightning run through her body as she realized the flaw in what Jack just said. _'Did you just make a mistake, Jack?'_

"...I lost," Weiss admitted at a normal volume before stepping away from Jack. "You're more than experienced enough to be our team leader."

Jack bowed and moved back into the center of the arena.

"Who's next?" He asked.

"Me," Blake said as he jumped down from her seat and into the arena. "Show me what you got."

Jack grinned.

"Now _this_ is interesting."

* * *

 _ **~Jaune~**_

* * *

"I'll have you know that sandwiches are my specialty," Jaune said as he wrapped tied the apron behind his back.

He and Nilla were in the school kitchens. The staff had retired for the night and all various utensils had been cleaned and hung up. Nilla had explained, via text, that they had free reign of the area as long as they cleaned up afterwards. At the moment, they were the only two in the kitchen. There was a huge pantry as well as an equally large freezer on either side of the kitchen, with various sinks and cupboards lining the walls. Jaune stood in front of an island counter. In front of him were various loaves of bread, condiments, as well as all the other fixings for a good ol-fashioned Arc Sandwich.

"Mmh!" Nilla grunted as her small form placed a mountain of assorted meats onto the counter. Reaching down into the drawers below, she drew out a few cutting boards. Running around, she gathered several knives of varying sizes and placed the small pile right next to the meat before looking up and grinning at Jaune. Her black-haired head was only just higher than the counter.

"I don't think you need that many knives," Jaune said, laughing. She laughed too, but just kept staring at Jaune as she did so.

' _Creepy,'_ Jaune thought as he turned back to face his ingredients. Positioning a cutting board in front of him and grabbing a knife from the pile, he began to prepare the ingredients.

"Truth be told, I'm not really good at fighting. It's much less stressful if all I have to do is make dinner. I used to do it all the time back home," he said as he chop the tomatoes into thin slices.

"Mhm," Nilla grunted, confirming that she heard him as she grabbed a knife for herself and began to chop up onions.

"I think you're pretty amazing," Jaune said, rhythmically chopping the tomatoes. He could hear Nilla chopping beside him. "You're strong _and_ you can cook. Not like me. Then again, you're stuck with that Jack dude."

Nilla's chopping stopped.

Jaune turned and saw her staring at him. Nilla nodded.

"So you really are stuck with him," Jaune said before sighing. His suspicions were slowly being confirmed. "Is he mean?"

Nilla nodded.

"Has he ever threatened you?"

Nilla nodded.

Jaune took in a shaky breath. Everything was lining up. Maybe this wasn't coincidence after all. What was he supposed to do if it turned out that…

"Sorry for asking a bunch of weird questions." Jaune laughed it off. What was he thinking? She was apparently his 'cousin'. He knew nothing about Nilla. For all he knew, she was working for him. "I've just heard a bunch of bad rumors about him, is all. Just want to make his team members are safe. Let me know if you ever need any help. I dunno how much use I'll be, but I can always go to a teacher for you."

Nilla put her knife down and pulled out her Scroll, typing out a message.

{Why do you care?} The message read.

Jaune looked away and scratched the back of his head.

"I come from a family of heroes. It's complicated," Jaune said, wincing at his own words. "Let's just say that I want to be something more than what I am. Is that hard to believe?"

Nilla smiled angelically and typed another message.

{You can never be something more than you are. You'll always be what you always are. Life's just about getting comfortable with that.}

Jaune looked down at the small girl and frowned.

' _What has he done to you?'_ He thought, a spark of anger forming in his core. It was hard to not feel protective towards Nilla. She was smaller than all the other students. To him, she seemed to be the most vulnerable. He'd also seen Weiss upset and even saw Jack hit her during lunch. So far, the only one he hadn't really spoken to was Ruby, but…

Did he even need to at this point?

{Oh no! I forgot my bag back in the room! I bought some super special ingredients! I'll be right back!} Nilla showed him this message as she ran out the door.

The door was left wide open.

Jaune grimaced as he grabbed the necklace hidden beneath his armor and his hoodie.

* * *

 _ **~Blake~**_

* * *

This was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Ilia's target. If she could find out why he was being targeted, then she could shed some light onto Ilia's real objective. Well, at least that was the plan. She didn't really know what to do _after_ she found everything out, but she could figure it out then. The most important thing was the here and now.

"Begin!" Miss Goodwitch called from above. Instead of charging at Roman like the Schnee girl did (his relationship to her could be important to the White Fang), Blake decided to wait and see what he would do first.

Like her, he waited.

"What's the matter? Scared? And here I thought you'd want to show off for your boy toy," Roman taunted. She knew he wanted her to attack first, so Blake decided to play the mental game for now.

"Unlike you, I don't need to show off. I'm not _that_ insecure," Blake fired back. Roman's lips curled up.

"It looks like you have some fire. Interesting. So many people hate to talk when they fight," Roman said as he began to stride towards her. Blake raised Gambol Shroud, the katana still in its sheath.

"For good reason," Blake said as she stood her ground. "Only weak people tend to run their mouths."

Roman stopped advancing and laughed.

"The people who say _that_ tend to lose."

In a split-second, Roman raised his cane and fired a firework shot out of the end of it. Blake jumped to dodge, leaving a clone in her place to confuse Roman. The shot tore the clone apart and hit the wall while the real Blake landed behind him. While his back was still turned, Blake rushed in and knocked Roman's hat off with a kick to the thief's temple followed by a single slash with her still sheathed Gambol Shroud. Predicting that he would counter, she jumped back and unsheathed Gambol Shroud, holding the sheath in her previously free hand.

Roman turned to face her slowly, cracking his neck. He grabbed his bowler hat off the ground, dusted it off, and put it back in his head. Smirking, he raised his cane.

"My, my. You do have some tricks," Roman said. "No need to be cautious. Come at me again." He extended one hand and beckoned her over with one finger.

' _Something is off here. He didn't even try to dodge those attacks,'_ Blake thought.

"Says you," Blake said. Roman shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

He fired at her again with his cane, but Blake jumped out of the way and dashed towards him as he fired yet another shot. However, this time he caught the shot with the hooked end of his cane and twirled it around, slamming the shot into her side. Blake took the hit and her Aura dropped by a fifth, but she countered by swinging Gambol Shroud at his smug face. However, he blocked it with his cane and kicked her in the stomach, sending her stumbling back a few feet.

' _It's not just dirty tricks that he has. He's strong. I'm not sure I can win in a one on one fight. I showed my Semblance too early,"_ Blake internally cursed. She'd bet that he'd show his Semblance if she showed hers first. If he was using it and she couldn't detect it, then that would massively complicate things.

More importantly, while she had heard "Jack Candlestick" was an ass and that Roman was a murderer, her opponent hadn't shown any unnecessary cruelty. This was just a surface impression, but Blake was starting to think that there wasn't anything inherently… unique about Roman. He was a cheater and loved to taunt others, but he seemed like any other roadside self-centered prick. Heck, she'd seen a dozen faunus just like him back in the White Fang.

She was about to charge back in before he raised his hands.

"I forfeit," Roman said.

' _Huh?'_

Roman smiled and walked away from her, tipping his cap as he did so. Miss Goodwitch declared her the winner and somebody else jumped into the ring to fight her, but it all happened in a blur.

' _Why would he forfeit?'_

She swore she could hear him laughing at her, but, when she looked up, he wasn't even seated up above. Ilia and Nora waved at her while Ren nodded his head, but there was no sign of Roman.

"Hey! You're up against me now!" A voice said, snapping Blake out of her trance. She looked up and saw Yang, from team JRNY, smashing her fists together. "Let's put on a good show."

Clearing her head, Blake raised Gambol Shroud.

"Fine. You're on."

* * *

 _ **~Ruby~**_

* * *

"Go big sis!" Ruby cheered from the stands.

Beside her, Weiss stared silently at the arena below. After getting out of the arena, Jack had only told them that the food was almost ready and had left to go and help Nilla and Jaune carry it over. Ruby couldn't help but smile at that. Jack was actually a pretty nice guy!

"Why do you think Jack forfeited?" Weiss asked Ruby. The cheery girl didn't turn her head away from the fight.

"I dunno. Maybe he thought he might be in danger? When we were in initiation, he made us sneak around so we didn't get into any fights," Ruby answered. Weiss crossed her arms.

"That sounds like him, certainly," Weiss said. "But he wasn't in danger at all in that fight. He's strong in one on one fights. I figured that much out."

"You probably already know why, Weiss," Ruby replied. Her eyes sparkled as she saw Yang land a killer uppercut on Blake only for her face to fall when it turned out to be another Blake clone. "You're much smarter than me. I'm just happy that, well, you're talking to me."

Weiss turned her nose up.

" _I_ know why, but it's important that _you_ figure it out. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," Weiss explained. "I doubt I can ask to switch you out for somebody else, so I might as well assist you. I have no problem with speaking with you, Ruby. But, seeing as you skipped a few years to get in here, you clearly lack experience."

"You're telling me," Ruby said, looking down. "I just want to fight Grimm and save people. Make the world a better place, you know? But it's so different here than back at Signal."

"Jack still chose you for his team," Weiss said. "So he sees something in you. Apparently."

"I mean, he has that Semblance of his that let's him see how strong people are. Besides, we bumped into each other at random during initiation, so—"

"Random? I doubt that," Weiss said, cutting Ruby off. She met Ruby's surprised, silver eyes with her own icy blue orbs. "He most likely made that Semblance up."

Ruby's eyes widened.

"What makes you think that?" Ruby asked.

"Why do you think Jack forfeited?" Weiss asked again. "He learned Blake's Semblance and got an idea as to how strong she was. He quit when he got what he wanted. Why would he do that if he had a Semblance that let him already see how strong somebody was?"

Ruby froze.

"Then, he…"

"He probably knew about you before initiation," Weiss said. "The question is: What makes you so special?"

' _Who are you, Jack?'_ Ruby thought as her face grew pensive.

He was technically her partner at Beacon. He knew enough about Dust to make his own compound. She remembered that Roman had told her his story wasn't a happy one. What _was_ his story exactly?

That train of thought was broken as Yang was announced the winner of the fight down below. Ruby stood up and cheered as her big sister helped Blake to her feet.

* * *

 _ **~Jaune~**_

* * *

He was alone.

If he did it quickly, then nobody would know.

No time for hesitating.

He pulled the necklace out.

It was a small, heart-shaped vial filled with a sickly, yellow liquid.

He followed the instructions exactly.

A little bit of this was all it took.

Given how late it was getting, his target would die in his sleep.

It would look like he was sick. Maybe a rare, lethal case of sleep apnea.

This was a perfect opportunity.

Yet, his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

He was going to be a hero.

A hero.

The bread below him looked like it would soak the poison up easily.

Easily.

Jaune gulped down his emotions.

This wasn't about him.

It was about his family.

' _Do it for them.'_

' _It's not even a crime.'_

' _He's a criminal.'_

' _You're doing good.'_

He uncorked the vial.

' _Nobody will miss Roman Torchwick.'_

And almost tipped it, but stopped himself.

' _But this isn't who I want to be.'_

At the moment, the door that he thought had been left wide open and empty shattered as if it was made of glass.

The last thing he saw before his vision went black was a small girl with pink and brown eyes, a twisted smile and a kitchen knife.

* * *

 **Next Chapter: Testimony**

* * *

 **A/N:** Had to cut it off here. Sorry! This was the best point I could reach to cut it off at. Any further and it would just be a ton of stuff that would bloat that chapter. And I'd really rather post the chapter sooner rather than later at this point. Spent a long time trying to get this to done right what with college and work happening.

Also, it's extremely hard to poison somebody if that person knows they're going to be poisoned. Especially if the poisoner himself has no experience with assassinating. Which begs the questions: Who would send such an individual and why?

Next chapter should shed some light on Roman's plans and his reasoning for what he's done in this arc thus far.

 **Mystery of the Chapter: Part 2.**

 **The last mystery tested whether you were creative or pragmatic. Many of you were very creative! Now, shall we continue?**

 **As you emerge from the room, the items you had wished for disappear. You find you are now in a much, much larger room that seems to go on for an eternity. Black bricks make up the floor and ceiling. Before you, there is a path lit by stone torches glowing with a blue light. Following the path, you reach an altar formed of thick onyx. A giant, spherical ruby floats above the altar. It shines in the middle of the darkness around you, emanating a warm, welcoming light. You hold out a hand towards it and you hear a voice in your mind.**

" **Formed from the scraps of man's affair with nature, to those with ambitions I am no stranger.**

 **I am unspoken love and tragedy unheard of.**

 **My face is a window and a door to the past, future, present and more.**

 **Tell me, prisoner: What am I?"**


	10. Testimony

**Chapter 8: Testimony**

 **A/N: Releasing this now, but will probably do extra proofreading over the next few days.**

* * *

 _You remember the first thing you were ever given. Bread. Food._

 _You remember being told that it was the only thing the world would ever give you for free._

 _You remember being told to take._

 _You take from the takers who take from other takers and it's an endless cycle because nobody ever really gives anything for free except for him._

 _Him._

 _In your heart of hearts, you'll never call him by those names. Roman. Jack._

 _Because you know the truth._

 _You and he have no real names._

 _They were never given to you._

 _You had to take them._

 _Just like you took everything else._

* * *

 **~Jaune~**

* * *

Jaune's head hurt.

His eyes fluttered and all he could see in front of him was a bright light aimed right at his face. His hands were bound together in handcuffs. At the edges of the bright light in his face was darkness and he averted his face and gaze into it. His bound hands were resting atop the wooden desk he could feel in front of him. He could feel a sort of wrapping around his temples that crossed over his forehead and then around that back of his head. Bandages.

"Good morning, Jaune Arc," a deep, gruff voice said from the darkness. "I'm Detective Green from the Vale Police Department, where you are now situated. If you do not recall, you attempted to poison one of your fellow Huntsmen in training at Beacon Academy with some modified Death Stalker Venom. Thankfully, one of your classmates was able to stop you in time before you became a murderer. You should thank them that we're even having this conversation right now."

Jaune's face froze in terror, cracking only when the throb of pain in his head hit him again. When did he… How did he—?

Detective Green continued. "Lucky you, huh? Attempted murder is such a lighter sentence," Jaune could hear the smile in the detective's voice. "I'm sure you must be confused. Your fellow Huntsman had acted quickly and you suffered a minor head injury. Your Aura, thankfully, will heal it in time."

Jaune put his hand to his head his head. Something seemed wrong about all this! He couldn't have… But maybe he did. His memory was blurring together. What had he done again? He'd gone to the Sparring Club, but after that he... If he failed, then…

Jaune grew pale and began to shake.

By now, it was probably too late.

It was all his fault, but… he could make it right. He had to. There'd be no other way he could live with himself.

"Detective Green, I don't really know what's going on, but I'll tell you everything you want to know and then some," Jaune said. A cold fire burned in his eyes. "Just, while we're talking, can you try to get into contact with my family?"

"We've already contacted th _em_ ," Detective Green said. Jaune wished he could see the detective's face. Maybe the detective was lying. Maybe he wasn't. For a split second, he heard something strange in the Detective's voice, but he must have imagined it. All Jaune knew was that his head hurt.

"Please, _stay_ in contact with them," Jaune pled, the corners of his eyes growing wet. He breathed out a few shaking breaths and steadied himself. If he told them everything, then surely the police would understand, right?

"Of course we will," Detective Green replied. Two blue-sleeved hands reached forward into Jaune's line of sight and placed a Scroll down on the table set to record. "Now, let's get your testimony. Start by giving your name."

Jaune looked down and began to speak.

* * *

My name is Jaune Arc and, truth be told, I, um, don't belong at Beacon. I come from a small village not too far from here. It's pretty safe and well-protected from Grimm. Back there, I was kind of a nobody. I mean, I was told my family was a line of heroes and even got my sword and shield passed down to me, but… I've always been the baby of the family. So, you know, I wanted to get out there. Prove myself. I really wanted to be a Huntsman.

Back in my village, nobody wanted to train me. They all thought I was too soft. They thought I'd hurt myself. I mean, they weren't wrong. Heck, I didn't even know how to use Aura until recently. If I went off to fight Grimm without knowing _that_ , I'd… probably be dead.

Long story short, I was too old to go to anywhere else but a proper Huntsman Academy and I knew for a fact that I wasn't strong enough to just pass their practical exam. So I, uh, started looking for other ways in. Since you're a police officer, you might have guessed this, but I… I went looking for this guy in Vale. Or, rather, the Forger found me.

Since I'm probably going to prison anyway, I'll just admit it. I cheated to get into Beacon.

The Forger seemed so nice. I mean, I never saw their face and I don't even know if they're a guy or a girl, but they were impressed with my determination. They said they could make a nobody like me become a star student. I showed up with my piggy bank full of all the lien I'd been able to save up. They sat me in a dark office deep in the sewers of Vale. I almost puked from the smell. I met them in person, but I don't know their face. They always wore this weird mask that looked like it was being forced to smile.

"I can grant you access to Beacon with high scores," they told me. "Normally, I would relieve you of a portion of the lien you have on your person and send you on your way. However, I'll need you to do something for me."

I...

You have to understand. I was desperate for a chance to go, detective. To make something of myself. I-I made a mistake.

"I'll do whatever you need," I told them.

I didn't know what I was agreeing to.

They didn't fill me in on the details immediately. Instead, I spent the next few weeks learning all I could from them. They had a special area in the sewer where they taught me all sorts of things. How to use my Aura, some basic combat skills, and a little bit of botany. I was just... excited to learn and get stronger. I wasn't thinking, okay? When I finally put two and two together and asked why I needed to study plants which delayed venom rather than cured it, they told me.

They wanted me to poison a violent criminal that had snuck into Beacon. That student I was about to poison wasn't really a student, detective. He was a villain named Roman Torchwick that got away with all sorts of crimes and hurt a lot of people. Even so, they wanted me to kill him. They gave me the proper reagents and inhibitors necessary to delay the venom. They had good intel that there was a Death Stalker in the area where initiation would take place. If I failed to get the poison, then they had all sorts of plans lined up and... they…

They told me I could be the hero I always wanted to be.

They... even told me about a girl named Pyrrha Nikos and advised me on how to approach her. I was told to use her to have an easy time getting into Beacon. Detective… Please tell her I'm sorry.

I… I never wanted to be a murderer, Detective Green.

But then they...

They.

They!

They threatened my family! My family, man! They said they'd kill them! What was I supposed to do?! Refuse?! Then they would have killed _me_ and then my family! I'm just a dumb kid that barely knows how to fight! I had no choice! No choice at all but to agree! And, damn it, I _wanted_ to be a hero!

I still do.

So, when nobody was looking, I took some poison from the Death Stalker after Roman and his team beat it in the initiation and mixed it with the ingredients the Forger gave to me. But I still wasn't going to—!

...I'm sorry for shouting. I must sound pretty terrible. All I'm doing is making excuses. If I killed Roman Torchwick, then I wouldn't be any better than him. Prisons exist for a reason. I know that. I know that. But I still kept thinking about my mom and my sisters.

...Is somebody here in the station still in contact with my family?

Somebody is?

The Forger probably hasn't realized I've failed yet! If you send some Huntsmen or officers of somebody to my house, then you can save them! I even know where the Forger's current base is! I can lead you right there! I can—

* * *

"How did the Forger say he would kill your family?" Detective Green interrupted. Jaune stopped thrashing about in his chair and dropped his head onto the table.

"He laughed... and said he'd light them up like fireworks. He's twisted, man. I feel sick just thinking about it…" Jaune trailed off. He should have just gone to Ozpin or the police first. They could have done something before it got to this point. This was all his fault.

"Oh, goddamnit! Turn the lights on! Drop the fake cop!" Detective Green barked. Jaune hear a chair sliding back and the pitter patter of small boots running across tile. The lights flashed on and what Jaune saw surprised him.

He was not in the police station. In fact, he had never left Beacon to begin with. Looking around, he saw the kitchen he had been busy making sandwiches in not so long ago. Standing next to the light switch with a smile on her face was Nilla. Jaune was seated in an old folding chair in front of an equally old school desk. There was a desk lamp pointed at his face, but, in the current lighting, it didn't blind him anymore.

And sitting across from him in a similar seat with a Scroll held up to his mouth was Roman Torchwick.

"I knew I had a bad feeling about this. You made this way more fucking complicated than it had to be," Roman said, his voicing turning into that of 'Detective Green' before he put the Scroll down.

' _A voice-changing program? Then… my family… all of this was just a—'_ He opened his mouth to scream, but Roman shoved the end of his cane into Jaune's mouth to silence him. Having seen Roman fire shots from it firsthand, Jaune gagged and stared at Roman in fear.

"Go bring them their food. Tell them Blondie here wanted to learn a bit from me and that we're taking a walk around the campus. Oh, and apologize for being late. Say we dropped the sandwiches and had to remake them. Make it believable and then put this whole setup in the kitchen away," Roman ordered. Nilla obliged and Jaune now noticed a huge stack of completed sandwiches on a tray that Nilla picked up with ease. Once Nilla left, Roman leaned back into his chair and pulled his weapon free. Jaune coughed and spit on the desk, but he didn't scream.

If he did, he would die.

"Relax, Blondie. Your family is not in any danger," Roman said as he reached into his jacket pocket with one hand, using the other to keep his cane pointed at Jaune. "Unfortunately." He pulled out a small box slid it open with one hand. Placing the box on the table, he pulled a cigar from it.

"...What do you mean?" Jaune asked, rubbing his throat with his handcuffed hands.

"Simply put, you're not an assassin. You're just a messenger boy. 'Light them up like fireworks' is just a code that means he's requesting a meeting with me," Roman explained. Putting the cigar in his mouth, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small lighter. As he lit the cigar and puffed it a few times, he slid back into his chair and put his shoes up on the table.

"If you did _any_ research at all, then you'd know the Forger isn't partial to violence. At least not against innocent people. The poison was just that bastard's way of testing me," Roman said.

"I don't… I don't understand. Why me?" Jaune asked. Roman shrugged.

"Because he _loves_ to fuck with people. You're not special. He just needed somebody bad enough at poisoning me. You came in at the perfect time for him, I'm guessing. Your whole job was for me to catch you and interrogate you. I'm betting the only reason he met with you in person was because he wasn't expecting you to return."

Jaune slumped into his chair.

"What now? Are you going to kill me now?" He asked. Roman smirked.

"Kid, I've sat where you sat before. I'm pissed off, but not at you. However, if anything was even _slightly_ different about our current circumstances, I would have killed you by now," Roman said. He took out his cigar and blew a long stream of smoke at Jaune, who coughed. "But you know where that copycat is. So that means you're my guide. Lucky you! You get to live at least until we meet him!"

"I… I… W-What make you think I'll go with you?" Jaune asked, his voice shaking.

"You hold no power here, Blondie," Roman said, an edge coming to his voice.. The end of his cigar burned bright and the smoke rising from it obscured the criminal's hardened eyes. Jaune gulped. "I'm not wanted and Professor Ozpin _allowed_ me to attend Beacon. You can't beat me in a fight."

Roman paused and picked up the Scroll off the center of the table. The one he had placed earlier that had recorded all of Jaune's testimony. He shook the small Scroll once and smirked.

"And I have proof that you were about to commit a murder," he continued. Swiping his Scroll a few times, he added, "Which I just copied and sent out to several locations that _will_ send it to Ozpin in case an 'accident' befalls me. And this is all without having to mention that you're handcuffed, I have the keys, and a weapon pointed at you. You. Have. Nothing. So yes. You are coming with me, kid."

Jaune's face fell as he remembered the Scroll and the handcuffs. He was trapped.

Roman stood and walked around, pulling Jaune up out of the chair by the back of his hoodie. He playfully slapped the blond teen's cheek.

"Oh, cheer up, Jaunie boy! Your family is alive and well! If you play your cards right, you might also get to live! This is the best possible situation for you!" Roman said before he pushed Jaune in front of him with his cane.

Jaune took one quiet step forwards. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

 _ **~Neo~**_

* * *

You would have killed him.

You wanted to kill him.

He was weak. Undeserving.

Went down in a single unexpected hit.

You remember sitting on his chest, knife against his jugular.

His breathing had been shallow.

It would have been so easy to stop it.

So easy.

He took from you.

He took what was yours.

You wanted to take everything from him.

But you didn't.

"We would have killed the poisoner," your employer had said, "So that's why we _won't_ this time. Not immediately. If you find your 'cooking partner' to be suspicious, then knock them unconscious."

You wanted to disobey. In the future, the assassin took your employer's life.

 **That was not his to take.**

You smile and open the door to the combat arena, bringing a big plate of sandwiches. Your employer left a big cooler full of drinks up in the stands that your team brings down. You tell them what your employer told you to say.

You go to your seat. The children eat and laugh, but all you do is take separate your sword from its umbrella-like sheath. You remember when the sword was just a rusty knife. His rusty knife.

But you had it reforged over and over and over and over again until it shined and had an edge to it that could slice through flesh as if it was made of paper.

You nod your head and smile.

When the time comes, you'll kill Jaune with _this_ knife.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

There was one key fact that had helped Roman hatch part one of his plan. He realized it when he saw the dream where Neo died of the same poison meant for him.

His killer was incompetent.

Any trained assassin wouldn't make a mistake like that and leave it until the wrong target died. His other killer, Ilia, had confirmed the poison wasn't her doing in his dream, so that meant that the poisoner most likely was a third party. Related to a criminal he slighted, like with Dove. If his killer didn't know about Ilia and was acting under different orders, then they most likely saw Forever Fall as an ideal opportunity to carry out their murder.

Taking all of this into consideration, Roman decided to create a Sparring Club and use himself as bait to lure out the poisoner. If the poisoner was the type to jump at the first major opportunity, then all he had to do was give them one. Of course, the Sparring Club had multiple purposes, but the poisoner would see at as a chance to get close to Roman, especially with the mention of food being offered. Part of why he'd decided to work with Ruby in the morning and send Neo to spar with Weiss was to make it harder for the poisoner to find somebody from CRWN when they were alone before class. He made a display of feeding Neo during lunch to discourage the poisoner from attempting to strike during lunch. Which meant that the only opportunity left was the one Roman had created.

Of course, he expected finding the poisoner to take a little bit longer, but all the pieces came together ever so nicely. It was no wonder why he didn't die of poison in his dream once he decided to rely on Neo a little. Since nobody knew Nilla was actually Neo, he could use her to take down an unsuspecting poisoner.

And he'd been suspicious of Jaune ever since the beginning.

" **The famous redhead, Pyrrha Nikos, however, got along well with a blond boy and both of them had swords. The scrawny blond also kept nervously glancing his way, and Roman had been through enough deaths and near-deaths to know that that was never a good sign. Roman marked him down on his shit list of suspects."**

Not to mention that the blond had shown up in the initiation with the Death Stalker.

" **Suddenly, a Grimm emerged from the sea of trees. Roman found himself staring at Pyrrha Nikos running from a giant scorpion, called by the "intimidating" name of Death Stalker, while carrying the blond boy from earlier bridal style in her arms. Looking closer, he noticed the blond was currently clinging to her and terrified."**

And yet somehow Jaune was able to regain his composure easily enough to command a team of people to take down a Nevermore. This would be no big feat if it wasn't for the fact that only a few minutes had passed since he was nearly killed by a Death Stalker. Which meant he hadn't been surprised by the Death Stalker, but had played up the angle to the extreme.

 **"I find it hard to believe that that blondie could come up with a plan like that so efficiently. He didn't seem the type."**

When Jaune volunteered to work with the food, then the last piece finally fit. Thankfully, the kitchen had no security cameras. Once Neo had grown suspicious of Jaune as well, she used her illusions to trick him into thinking she left and then jumped him before he could use his poison, knocking him out. She then texted Roman. Feeling his Scroll vibrate in his pocket, Roman had forfeited the fight with Blake and hurried over so that they could prepare. With Jaune unconscious, they were able to drag a desk and chairs from a nearby storage closet (it had been locked, but no lock could stop Roman Torchwick). Neo had the handcuffs on her. For many reasons, Roman didn't ask why.

Afterwards, he had Neo create an illusion of police officer over him just in case Jaune proved to be more trouble than expected. While they waited for Jaune to wake up, Roman and Neo had a pleasant time finishing up the sandwiches.

All of this happened within thirty minutes.

Of course, he hadn't expected Jaune to be a message from the Forger himself. Considering all the information Roman had on the crime lord was one of his previous locations, the Forger should not have had any sort of grudge towards Roman. Which meant that Jaune was a test. Which meant the Forger wanted something from Roman. And, if Roman's hunch was right, then this was a meeting he couldn't afford to miss.

But the worst part was that Roman failed this test. Twice! If he didn't have his Semblance, he would have died! It was humiliating beyond all belief!

Now, however, he could breathe easy. He patted his jacket pocket, feeling the reassuring shape of the vial filled with modified Death Stalker venom. With this poison, he finally had a chance at surviving. And with him bluffing that he had sent several copies of the recording out (he had only sent one to Neo for good measure), Jaune would obey his instructions. At least temporarily. Self-sacrifice was a hard thing to manage.

Forcing Jaune through Beacon's empty halls, he took the boy outside and led him south towards the Emerald Forest, the site of the initiation. Roman typed out a message on his Scroll with one hand, addressed to the one pilot from Stork Airways who owed him a favor.

The sun was already starting to set. As they made their way across the grass and under the canopy of trees, Jaune spoke up.

"I… wasn't going to do it. I stopped myself."

Roman rolled his eyes. He knew _that_ wasn't true.

"Kid, you would have done it eventually. You'd justify it, do it, and then continue to justify it," Roman said. "All because you wanted to play 'hero'. If it wasn't for your family, you could have double-crossed the Forger to Ozpin and been welcomed officially to Beacon. If you didn't care about being a hero, then you could have poisoned me much sooner and let somebody else take the blame. You failed to do either. Look out for number one, kid. Everyone else will only drag you down."

"That's... not true at all," Jaune refuted. The boy's voice was still weak, as if the rest of his brain was too busy trying to piece together exactly how he got here. Roman sighed.

"What is it with you people and family? It's a _construct_. A lie that everyone is better off without. You'd kill for your family, let yourself be killed, but in the end you'll always just die alone," Roman said. "It's a weakness."

"A weakness... that I'm guessing you don't have," Jaune said. Roman nodded as he pushed Jaune forward with the end of his cane.

"Exactly. That's why _I'm_ the one with the gun pointed at your back," Roman stated.

"You... must be pretty lonely then, huh?" Jaune said. Roman prodded Jaune again.

"You are doing a _piss poor_ job of convincing me to keep you alive after this little meeting," Roman said. He put his cane down and walked beside Jaune. Throwing his right arm around Jaune's shoulder, Roman continued, "Look, you're in an awful position. You're young, stupid, and travelling with a man who you think will most likely kill you before the sun rises again. You're thinking that you could run. Failing that, at least try to bite me or headbutt me in a self-righteous fervor. Once again, I've _been_ where you are. Several times in fact. Don't be stupid. Focus on keeping yourself alive."

Jaune shivered under his arm. The boy was terrified, that much was clear. However, terror was only temporary. If the boy saw a chance, he'd quickly get brave. The heroic types always did.

"Why… why are you giving me advice? Why are you at Beacon in the first place? Why does Ozpin know you're there? Just what the heck is going on here? What do you mean my family is alright? What do you mean this was all just a test? I just don't understand," Jaune said, falling to his knees.

Roman sighed.

It would be _so_ much easier if the kid was a little shit. But no. He had to have ideals. He had to have aspirations. He reminded Roman of Ruby. Roman had dealt with all manner of kids too dumb to know their place. Still, this kid had killed him. For that alone, Roman wanted to choke the life out of him.

"Stand up," Roman ordered. "If I was even more of an asshole, I would be dragging you. So stand up. You curl up and show weakness and you _will_ be beaten. That's how the real world works. It's cold and uncaring, Blondie."

"I can't…" Jaune said, his voice cracking. "If I go with you… you'll kill me. There's no escape. No way out."

Roman rolled his eyes.

' _The last thing I need is for him to break down. I have to worry enough about attracting Grimm as is.'_

"Only if you give up on looking," Roman said, shaking his head. "How about this? I'll give you a basic rundown of the current situation and then you can decide to stand and walk with me or be dragged. I don't have to do this, but consider this information… your one freebie. The only thing anybody will give you for free with no strings attached. No lies. If you want anything else, then you have to take it. Deal?"

Slowly, Jaune nodded.

Sitting down on a nearby rock, Roman crossed his legs and planted Melodic Cudgel in the dirt before grabbing a cigar out of the box in his jacket pocket and lighting it.

"In the underbelly of Vale, everyone has a specific phrase associated with them to signal a request for a meeting. They're basic phrases because they're _supposed_ to be saved for use in public spaces, but the Forger has a twisted sense of humor," Roman explained. "He used mine to describe killing your family, but that was probably just meant to make sure you don't forget the phrase. Besides, he doesn't kill innocents anymore."

"Anymore?" Jaune asked, his eyes wide.

"Oh, yes. He used to do dreadful, horrifying things to people while they were still alive for the sake of improving his Semblance," Roman said matter-of-factly. "But enough about him. I'm legally innocent, although it's true I've done things that would make your poor mother cry. I'm _technically_ at Beacon to reform with Ozpin's blessing. You really couldn't be given a worse target to try to justify killing for your ideals, Mr Hero."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't…" Jaune swallowed and then shook his head. "Why would he use… such a weird method to try to contact you? Why not call you?" Jaune asked. Roman laughed and then his expression darkened.

"Like I said, it's some sort of test and he has a twisted sense of humor. Aside from that, he can't exactly call me and tell me where he's hiding. That's idiotic," Roman answered. "I'll give you one more question, kid."

"...How do I get you to _not_ kill me?" Jaune asked, his eyes finding the ground. Roman crossed his arms.

"That's not even related to… Well, whatever," Roman shrugged. "If you used your brain instead of giving up when you didn't know what to do, then you'd have figured it out by now. What's the point of blackmail if it doesn't even last twenty-four hours?"

"Oh," Jaune said, finally realizing. "You weren't… planning on killing me at all, were you?"

Roman smirked.

' _Jaune being the poisoner couldn't be more perfect. If I control him, then I control JRNY. Nikos and Yang will be invaluable assets going forward,'_ Roman thought. The more pawns he had on the board, the better. _'There's the risk of betrayal, but there's always that risk. If I'm going to survive, I'll need every advantage possible.'_

"Of course not, Jauney-Boy!" Roman said before tossing his cigar and crushing it. "I just wanted to see if you could figure that out, but you gave up. How _very_ unheroic." Roman stood and walked over to the boy." And considering the fact that you were planning on _murdering_ me, I think I'm being saint-like in my oh so abundant mercy. From this point forward, you now work for me. Got it?" Roman asked.

"...Got it," Jaune said. Shaking, Jaune stood up. However, the look in his eyes was sharper. "It's not like... I have much of a choice, anyway."

"Don't worry. I won't ask you to do anything _illegal_ ," Roman lied. Unearthing his cane and twirling it, Roman began to walk again. Jaune followed shortly behind.

"But if you try to kill me again, don't expect the same mercy. You disobey, then the recording of you admitting your crime goes straight to Ozpin. Or worse," Roman said. "This is your one and only chance. Oh, but I will pay you. I'm not a monster, after all. Just don't expect any dental benefits."

Jaune said nothing, but nodded.

After about ten minutes of travelling in silence, the duo broke through the trees and reached the cliff where Ozpin had originally launched them into the forest. Roman reached into his jacket, pulled his cigar box out and placed it on the cliffside. He doubted Ozpin of all people would ever give him anything for free.

Looking out over the wide swath of green below, Roman put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

"Come out, Jerry! Or did I get you out of debt for nothing?" Roman called.

A few moments later, a square of green from one of the openings of the forest began to rise. As it grew closer, Roman saw the green tarp that had covered the airship get pulled in through an opening in the roof. He looked at Jaune, whose mouth was wide open, and winked. The ship turned in the air and hovered with its back facing the cliff. Backing up, the ship stopped a few inches away from the cliff, the hum and wind from its engines causing the grass around it to sway. The large cargo door on the back of the ship opened, revealing a helmeted man in a black uniform.

"Meet our ride for the evening. Jerry," Roman said as he hopped into the back of the ship. Jaune gulped, but followed Roman, taking great care not to accidentally trip.

"My name isn't Jerry," the pilot said, closing the door behind them. They followed him past the conspicuous metal crates and boxes of the small cargo bay and climbed the ladder on the far end of it. Getting to the cockpit, Roman smiled.

The cockpit had one seat in the front surrounded by various control consoles as well as a two opposing passenger seats on either wall. The whole place smelled like old popcorn and body odor. Beer cans and cigarette butts were scattered around the floor and the once-white passenger seats were stained to a light brown. While Stork Airways was a professional organization, every organization had its own fuck ups. Those types of people were Roman's favorite.

"Well, what is your name then?" Jaune asked.

"It's—" Jerry started.

"Sorry, we don't care, Jerry," Roman interrupted.

"Gods, you're such an asshole. No wonder everyone's on a manhunt for you. And dying your hair brown and changing your clothes _really_ doesn't do much to hide you," Jerry said as he took a seat. Roman and Jaune took the passenger seats and faced each other.

"I thought you said you weren't wanted?" Jaune asked.

"Not by the cops," he answered with a wink. "Now kindly tell the man where we're going."

"Take us to the Industrial District. Near the abandoned factory on 7th Street," Jaune said. Jerry nodded, not bothering to look back at them.

"Gotcha," he said as the ship began to lift. "By the way. Who's the kid, Roman? Definitely not beat up enough to be a prisoner. Only has one head injury. I'm not one to judge, but is this, like, a sex thing?"

"Do you think I saved you from debt just so I could call you in for help with a 'sex thing'?" Roman asked. Jerry shrugged.

"I've had requests like that in the past. I move bodies, warm or cold. There's some real kinky freaks out there. Sometimes I get asked to watched. It's usually pretty decent," Jerry replied. For a few moments, the only sound in the air was the hum of the ship's engines as both Roman and Jaune stared at the back of Jerry's head before turning back to face each other.

"You saved _him_ from debt?" Jaune asked. Roman pinched the bridge of his nose.

"To be exact, Jerry here got conned by some insurance fraud company and came to me for help," Roman explained. "I was looking to expand my territory anyways, so it worked out. One brilliant plan later, they were behind bars, Jerry owed me a favor, and I gained an office building."

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Roman pulled out a small key and tossed it to Jaune, who fumbled it around in the air before catching it.

"At this point, the handcuffs aren't necessary, but hand them back to me. They're very important to someone," Roman said. Jaune freed himself from the handcuffs and rubbed his sore wrists. Roman held a hand out and Jaune place the handcuffs in the thief's grasp. Pocketing the handcuffs, Roman made a mental note to ask Neo what other strange goods she may have brought in with her.

"Why is there a manhunt for you exactly?" Jaune asked.

"Because he sold out every friend he had and disappeared off the radar," Jerry said. "I mean, I'm sure he sold me out too, but this douche doesn't even know my name. There isn't a single pilot who works for my group named Jerry."

"And that's why I don't let you tell me your name," Roman said with a wink.

"Nope. Pretty sure you're just an uncaring asshole."

Roman laughed at that, and him and Jerry continued to banter back and forth while Jaune watched in both confusion.

After twenty minutes of flying, the ship lowered itself into the abandoned part of the industrial district. Night had fallen and the streetlights were dim. They hovered twenty feet above the middle of the empty road that ran in front of the skeletal remains of what used to be a Dust processing factory. The building itself was isolated from the rest of the factories and warehouses. There was only one smokestack left on the building, as the rest of looked as if it had exploded outwards. The walls were torn open, not a single door remained on its hinges, and rebarb jutted out of the concrete pillars that still stood. Nailed into the ground in front of the building was a sign that said:

[CONDEMNED AND SCHEDULED FOR DESTRUCTION. DO NOT ENTER.]

"This is where you get off, boys," Jerry said with a wink, opening the back entrance of the cargo bay.

"We'll be seeing you then, Jerry. I'll pay properly next time, but do fix the smell of the place," Roman said.

"My ship, my rules, my smell. Now get the fuck off my ship," Jerry said.

"It was nice to mee—" Jaune started before Roman pushed him out of the ship. The boy let out a sharp cry as he tumbled through the air and hit the concrete. Thankfully for him, he knew how to use Aura and didn't break anything.

Tipping his hat at Jerry, Roman jumped out of the back and landed squarely on his feet.

"Get up. We have an appointment to make," Roman said. Jaune slowly got back up to his feet again. Cradling his butt with one hand and wincing, Jaune began to limp over to Roman.

"I'm guessing you're still pissed about the poisoning thing?" Jaune asked. Glancing at him, Roman confirmed that the only thing Jaune had broken was his dignity. But, as that was a previous break that didn't look like it would heal, Roman only slightly chuckled at it.

"It's harder to get over than you might think," Roman replied.

Jaune sighed, nodded, and guided Roman through the open remains of a doorway into the ruined factory.

* * *

 _ **~Ozpin~**_

* * *

 _{The Sparring Club is just wrapping up. There's no sign of 'Jack',}_ Glynda said, her voice coming from the Scroll on Ozpin's desk.

Ozpin held a different, tablet-sized Scroll in one hand and sipped from his hot chocolate with the other. His office was dark and the gentle grinding of the gears above soothed him.

"He is still on the cliffside," he said, reading out the information on the Scroll. "It has been a surprisingly popular place for conversation over the years."

With the tracker he installed in Roman's cigar box, he was able to keep an eye on all of Roman's movements. He'd almost installed a bug to listen in to Roman's conversations, but feared that would be going too far. Nobody would reform if you violated all of their privacy. Not to mention that Roman had earned some of Ozpin's trust. Perhaps the conversation with Jaune would serve him well.

"Who won in the end, by the way?" Ozpin asked.

 _{After beating Blake, Yang was unstoppable. Nora and Pyrrha both put up very good fights against her, but their strength turned against them thanks to her Semblance. I had hoped Nilla would fight as well, but she opted out this time,}_ Glynda explained. Ozpin smiled at that.

"That is _very_ interesting," Ozpin said. "If Roman and Jaune are not back in the next half-hour, would you do me a favor and go searching for them, Glynda? There _are_ Grimm in that area."

"Of course, headmaster Ozpin," Glynda said before hanging up.

"...Well. That was rather rude of her," Ozpin said.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

"This factory has its own sewer system," Jaune explained as he and Roman crouched over the metal hatch in the ground. They were in a grey and destroyed room in the corner of the factory. "I think it was for getting rid of the waste from processing Dust. Sure, anybody can turn Dust crystals into powder, but most Dust crystals aren't pure."

"And the irregularities and imperfections in the Dust sometimes have similar properties to the type of Dust they're associated with," Roman continued. He met Jaune's eyes. "I've heard the Forger talk about this before. He loves that these types of sewers are fire-proof."

Jaune scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah… he talked about it a lot," Jaune said. Then, grabbing the handle on the hatch, he grit his teeth and pulled it up with both hands, causing the hatch to go flying up and him to lose his grip as he stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. "Hey, do you think I could land a hit on the Forger? Even though he lied about my family… Because of him, I—"

"Forget it, kid," Roman said as he looked down the open hatch. There were ladder runs implanted in the wall, but everything down below was dark. "He can copy any movements he's seen before. Trying to fight him is like trying to fight dozens of different Huntsmen at once."

"So _why_ are we going to him again? I know he sent for you, but you could always refuse," Jaune asked.

"Because he'll keep sending 'tests' like you until I respond," Roman said. "Let's go."

And then Roman jumped down the hatch.

"Hey, wait! There's a ladder for a reason!" Jaune yelled down the hatch. Then, sighing deeply, he started to climb down the ladder.

Roman landed on his feet and sniffed. The air smelled like gasoline. While the sewer tunnel was for the most part dark, there was a light in the distance. With that light, he could faintly make out the walls and floor around him. Unlike a normal sewer that was made of stone and concrete, this was practically a steel hallway but split in the middle by a canal. In the canal was a stream of some sort of black liquid. Roman was standing on the raised portion on the left side of the tunnel and he reached into his jacket and pulled out his Scroll. Using the light from it, he read the red-lettered inscription on one wall.

[WASTE DISPOSAL]

"Do you really have to show off like that?" Jaune asked, now reaching the bottom of the ladder. Roman began to move forward, using Melodic Cudgel and his Scroll to guide him down the tunnel.

"Aren't you getting too buddy-buddy with me, Blondie?" Roman asked. "We're not friends. I'm blackmailing you, remember?"

"And I almost killed you," Jaune said before following after Roman. "So, uh, yeah. I kinda deserve that much. But you told me my family was alive. You're a _reforming_ criminal and you also saved that Jerry guy. You also… sold out all your friends. I'm guessing those were criminals. I think you're trying to change. Just like me. Although you're an ass, you're not really the one responsible for all the bad things I've been through."

Roman rolled his eyes.

' _Cringey as it is, I can play up this angle. Should guarantee more loyalty. Now, using his interpretation of me, I should say...'_

"Think what you like. As long as you don't disobey, I won't get you expelled and sent to prison," Roman said.

"...Got it."

 _'Nailed it.'_

After ten more minutes of walking down the tunnel, Roman and Jaune reached the light. It sat above a strange oak door. There was a small metal plaque on the front of it that read, "Welcome, Roman and Jaune!" Roman turned to Jaune with one eyebrow cocked, but Jaune shrugged helplessly. Pushing the door open, the two found themselves in a completely different type of an environment. It was a well-lit, rectangular room with wood floors, walls with all sorts of playing cards embedded in them, a carpet imported from Vacuo, two brown leather chairs, and, at the very end of the hall, a desk with the chair behind it turned around.

Roman took a step in.

"What did you want, copycat bastard?" Roman asked.

"Oh, Roman! It's been so long since we talked!" A high-pitched, childlike voice suddenly said as a head poked out from behind the door. Taken by surprise, Roman stumbled backwards. Stepping out from behind the door was a small figure with a white, smiling mask and a suit made up of various shades of purple. On his head were two purple cat ears.

Those were new.

"You like these, Roman? Some of the White Fang tried to break up one of my deals and I said to myself, 'Forgie, you have just _got_ to have those ears', so I took 'em and dyed them to go with my outfit so I could be a _real_ copycat. Bad habits die hard, am I right, Roman?" The Forger asked.

Jaune looked at the Forger in horror as Roman got to his feet.

"Or you just bought replicas," Roman said. The Forger's shoulders slouched.

"You're no fun anymore, Roman. And here I got all excited when I saw you on the hidden camera feed," the Forger said before skipping over to his desk and performing a perfect front flip to land in the chair. Spinning around in his chair, the Forger leaned his elbows on his desk. "This is a nice little temporary office. Very barebones. Many hidden secrets, though! Hey, Jaune!" The Forger suddenly perked up and waved at Jaune. Suddenly, the Forger's voice dropped to sounding like a burly man in his forties as he added, "Did my son treat you alright?"

"Your… son?" Jaune said as he looked to Roman. Roman shook his head.

"I am _not_ related to him," Roman clarified.

"Aww, but I gave you your name. That makes me the Papa," the Forger said, his voice now becoming child-like again.

"I _bought_ it. Earned and took it myself. I owe you nothing," Roman said, glaring at the Forger, who giggled.

"Gave you and your follower your names, got you out of John's gang, and because of me you're no longer the same," the Forger sung as he bobbed back and forth.

"Cut to the point," Roman said. "What do you want from me?"

The Forger stopped bobbing and sat up straight.

"Roman," he started, his voice now sounding like an old man, "You lack patience. We should take our time and celebrate. You passed my little test. To be honest, I was worried you would fail. Because, if you had failed, you wouldn't stand a chance at stopping Cinder. I even made sure Jaune knew how to delay the poison so you would have time to figure it out and create a cure."

Jaune's eyebrows narrowed.

"I don't know who this Cinder is, but… you made me go through so much for just a test? You threatened my family. Forced me to manipulate Pyrrha. I won't forgive you," Jaune said, his eyes burning with rage. The Forger tilted his head.

"I meeean, you're the one who wanted to cheat to get into a school. Cheating has consequences if you're not good at it. You just made a lot of bad bad choices," the Forger said in his childlike voice. "Now, shoosh. Big boys are talking." And the Forger flicked his wrist. In the blink of an eye, a playing card had embedded itself into the wooden wall a few inches from Jaune's head. Jaune gulped.

"Anyhoo, you let Jaune live, so that means you're not a big dummy. And only somebody who isn't a big dummy can find my door!"

"What do you know about Cinder?" Roman asked, sitting in one of the leather chairs. "If you're getting involved, then she must have become a pretty big deal."

The Forger laughed.

"Oh, definitely _not_! She's just failing really badly! Oh, and sit down, Jaune," the Forger said, motioning to Jaune. The young man sat down in the other leather chair, his hands clenched into fists. "Most of the big names have already left Vale because she's screwing up so much. Other than me, only Junior is left and, get this, he _works_ for her. Which is kinda sorta the problem. He's an information and arms dealer with a bunch of henchmen. He's dumb too. Not what she needs for the robberies she wants to pull off. With the police being on high alert from that bombing, she's stolen a teensy weensy amount of Dust. However, every time she fails, she just makes the police work harder. She even brought in the White Fang as extra muscle, not that that did her much good. As she fails, the difficulty goes up and up and up and it's bad for everyone's business."

"And you called me here because you want me to stop her," Roman said, narrowing his eyes. The Forger shrugged.

"She's desperate and super duper emotional. That surprise you left her really shook her all up. She reaaaaally wants you to die. I don't think you can _kill_ her. I don't think _I_ can kill her. She's a tough cookie. But if you get involved, then she'll make mistakes. You being around her is like a constant debuff!" The Forger stood up on his chair and raised his hands to the sky dramatically. "But," he said as he sat back down. "I don't have a plan for _that_ right now. I thought it would take longer for you to pass the test, actually."

"So what _do_ you have?" Roman asked. "There's no way you have nothing."

"Recently," the Forger started in the old man voice, "People have started to go missing. Homeless. Some of the Nameless. Nobody that would normally be missed or noticed. However, the disappearances are happening at the same time each night. They're taken two at a time. Cinder is the most likely suspect, though I don't know what she's planning. If you're willing to get to the bottom of this, I will compensate you. Ten million lien sound fair?"

Jaune's jaw dropped, but Roman frowned.

' _Kidnappings? Then, that last dream… I'll need to know the answer to that question to survive anyway.'_

"Only for that answer? I know better than to haggle with you. Deal," Roman said. Although the Forger nearly poisoned him, Roman had no real source of income at the moment. Money and self-preservation came before revenge. Ten million lien could keep Neo paid for quite a while. It also meant he could pay Jaune. Loyalty bought with money and blackmail was some of the strongest loyalty there was, after all.

"Oh, and I'm putting up bounties of my own for her little followers. Bring them to me, alive or dead, instead of Ozpin and I'll pay you very well. You won't have to worry about them escaping from whatever prison he'll try to use," the Forger said. He threw a small, black device to Roman, who caught it out the air. "Put that on your Scroll if you ever want to contact me."

"Why do you care about the missing people?" Jaune suddenly asked. "Aren't you a criminal? Why should they matter to you?"

The Forger giggled in his childlike voice.

"Imagine Vale like a toy box. Imagine if a kid from another neighborhood comes in and pushes over the toy box and spills it all over the ground. Wouldn't you get angry? Wouldn't you want the kid to die? I would. Especially if that kid started to **steal** my toys," the Forger said before covering the mouth drawn on his mask with one hand. "Woops! Bad habits again!"

The Forger laughed.

"Why not do any of this yourself?" Roman asked. "You have the resources, manpower, and skills. I'm not an idiot. You should be more than capable."

"Because then it would be _war_ , silly! I can't poison her or try to get close. She's too careful. That's why it has to be you."

Roman clicked his tongue.

"You don't want to risk anything."

"Bingo, Roman! Gee, you're super smart!"

Roman stood.

"We should be getting back. You better have that money ready for the next time I see you," Roman said as he made his way towards the door. Jaune stood to his feet, glaring at the Forger. After a long moment, he followed Roman.

"Bye bye! Tell Neopolitan to come visit sometime! We just have the _best_ conversations!" The Forger waved as they left his office.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter ended up being way longer than expected. Wow.**

 **So, about Jaune. I plan on doing a section from his perspective later, but I wouldn't say he likes Roman. More like he just doesn't hate him. In one of the first versions of this story, I started with Roman going to the Forger with Neo so he could sneak into Beacon. He would then see Jaune leaving and later use that as blackmail. This turned out very differently.**

 **Eagle-eyed readers will remember the Forger being noted back during that Cinder and Junior scene as well as back when Roman was listing criminals he betrayed. I normally don't make OCs, but Vale's criminal underground never got fully developed. I had to flesh out Roman's backstory and make it interesting, which is nearly impossible to do without OCs or changing the core elements of RWBY dramatically.**

 **Answer to last mystery** **: A book. The pages of a book are made of paper, which is basically formed from wood chips, aka "the scraps of man's affair with nature" aka the waste of the lumber industry. Most ambitious people require knowledge which, lo and behold, comes from books. Unspoken love and tragedy unheard of refers to how books tell these stories through text rather than spoken word.**

" **My face is a window and a door to the past, future, present and more." That's the cover of a book. Window as in it tells you what's in the book, door as in you open the cover to find stories that can take place in the past, future, present, or something else entirely, like a fantasy world.**

 **Unfortunately, nobody guessed correctly. A few people guessed "secret", but does a secret really have a face?**


	11. Excuses

**Chapter 9: Excuses**

* * *

 _He remembered the first time he ever stole. It was a small thing. A bag of chips taken when the shop owner wasn't looking._

 _He remembered the disbelief and thrill of not getting caught. Was it really that easy? Were people really that trusting? What if he had stolen something important? He could have ruined them if he was somebody else. He could have taken something worth far more._

 _He remembered the second time he stole. When would they learn? Why didn't they protect the things precious to them more?_

 _He remembered stealing again and again and each time he asked the same questions to nobody. Why didn't they care as much as they should? Why was it so easy for him? Did these people have anything precious to them at all? Did they just not care?_

 _He wondered if that was the reason he had no name._

* * *

 _ **~Jaune~**_

* * *

"So how are we going to get back?" Jaune asked. They were back outside the factory on the street where Jerry had dropped them off previously. However, the dirty pilot was nowhere to be seen. Roman took out his Scroll and started typing on it.

"He'll be back shortly, kid," Roman said, finishing up his message and pocketing his Scroll. "All we have to do is wait here."

Sitting down on the curb, Jaune had a million questions swirling in his head. The past thirty minutes had been the craziest thirty minutes in his life. One moment he was a prisoner by the person he'd been told to kill, the next he was hired by the person, and then he had a tense conversation with the weirdest and scariest person he'd ever met who _also_ nearly killed him with a playing card. A playing card! He pressed his hands to his temples and reorganized his thoughts. Roman, on the other hand, walked down the street, saying that he would be back.

Roman. While at first he seemed dangerous and terrifying, everything Jaune saw led him to believe that, perhaps, Roman just had a tough exterior and was really a good person underneath it all. When Jaune confronted him, Roman didn't confirm or deny it, which meant Jaune probably had the right impression of him. If the criminal had accepted that Jaune had the right idea, then Jaune would have known Roman was lying. Not to mention that Roman saved Jerry by stopping other criminals and even sold out all his criminal friends so that he could start over. If that wasn't proof enough, Roman even agreed to help save those kidnapped people!

Granted Roman was getting paid, but didn't Huntsmen save lives for payment too? Roman had sacrificed his way of life and saved countless others from exposing the other criminals around him. At the very least, Roman had _done_ something.

What had Jaune sacrificed? Jaune sighed and looked up at the sky. Was he really just all talk?

Maybe Roman wasn't exactly a hero in the way Jaune imagined, but, still… he could probably learn something from working for Roman.

Looking up, Jaune saw Roman helping an old man up off the ground. Given the bottle in the man's hand, Jaune guessed the elder had too much to drink and had wandered into the wrong side of town. Try as he might, the blond couldn't help but smile as he watched Roman give the old man directions and pat him on the back. Although Jaune couldn't hear what they were saying, he guessed that Roman was offering to help the man and even saw the rehabilitating criminal pull out his Scroll as if to ask if there was anybody the drunk wanted to call. The drunk shook his head and stumbled away, however, but not without smiling as he did so. Done, Roman made his way back to Jaune.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here," Roman's said as he dropped a lien card into Jaune's lap. Looking up, he found his heroic employer frowning. "Your first payment, kid. 10,000 lien for not trying to attack the Forger and getting us both killed."

Jaune's eyes widened.

"T-Thanks, sir!" Jaune exclaimed as he stood up. Roman clicked his tongue.

"Don't shout about it. You'll draw attention to us," Roman advised. Jaune gulped.

"Right, sorry," Jaune whispered. "Hey, quick question? What's the deal with Nilla? Does she work for you too?"

Sighing, Roman nodded.

"You really are slow if you're just now figuring that out. She's your superior and my subordinate. You take orders from me and her. However," Roman stopped and held up one finger. "My orders are absolute. You should always prioritize them. _Especially_ if the orders she gives are different. If she ever gives any orders that would directly or indirectly harm me, then you _tell me_."

Jaune tilted his head.

"I don't understand. She works for you. Don't you trust her?" he asked.

Roman laughed.

"Trusting anybody completely is the same as lying on your back and handing the other person a knife. Most people prefer to be the one holding the knife," Roman explained. "Less risk of getting stabbed that way, kid."

"I see," Jaune said, but he really didn't see. How could you ever work with somebody if you can't trust them?

At that point, a rope descended from the sky in front of them. Looking up, Jaune saw Jerry's ship hovering overhead.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

After stealing Jaune's "pay" off a random drunk wandering the streets, Roman felt much better about how fucked his situation was. Of course, the kidnapping had to be related to his dream, which meant it had to be related to the stampede of Grimm. Anybody could have figured that much out. Cinder and her minions would only restrain him if they were planning on him dying immediately afterwards. However, he needed proof and a clear understanding of the situation if he wanted to survive _and_ get paid.

"Surprised nobody died," Jerry said from the cockpit. "Old Dust factories are dangerous. Never know when you step on some left over Burn Dust and then 'Poof'! You're gone."

"Thanks for the concern," Roman said. Jaune was seated across from him, his mouth agape at the possibility that he could have died in there before even seeing the Forger. Roman clicked his tongue. At least that a small bit of pay was enough for the boy to not get any bright ideas and try to charge back in and challenge the Forger. The last thing he needed was more suicidal, self-righteous idiots to deal with.

"Jerry, you have some morphine on you? I'll pay you," Roman asked. He saw the back of Jerry's helmet dip as the man nodded.

"Duh, of course I do. Like I said, I get some kinky freaks. Pain meds help them when they're done with their shit and helps me when _I'm_ done with their shit," Jerry replied. "I'll throw some your way once we land."

"Good," Roman said, scanning the messy floor around him.

Reaching down, Roman grabbed an empty beer bottle off the floor. Luckily, there was a proper metal corner on the edge of his seat, where the stained cushion ran short. Raised the glass by the end, he smashed the bottle against the corner, leaving himself with a sharp weapon.

"Hey! Don't break my things!" Jerry barked out before laughing. Jaune cocked an eyebrow at this display, so Roman decided to speak up before he had to play twenty questions with the kid.

"We need a story," Roman explained.

He cut his palm on the glass, deliberately keeping his Aura as off of the injury as possible, and blood flowed freely from the wound. Roman rubbed his bloodied hand on his clothes in several places before taking the broken glass to his face and leaving small, ugly cuts on his face. He let the blood ooze down his face before moving it around his face with his free hand and making most of his face appear bloodstained. He then stabbed the glass into his side, biting his lip to keep from crying out.

"We're going to have a good story to tell, kid," Roman said.

Jaune gulped.

"Now, as for your part," Roman started. He cracked his knuckles.

* * *

 _ **~Glynda Goodwitch~**_

* * *

Managing Roman Torchwick was, to say the least, infuriating. If Glynda had her way, he would have never crawled his slimy, greasy way into Beacon with all the students who actually wanted to be there for their own betterment. Just being around him made her feel sick to her stomach. Even if he had spared Dove Bronzewing and tried to be coy about it, that conversation with him in the nurse's office was beyond aggravating.

And now he took a student away. Who knew what he was doing with the boy? The last thing she needed was him corrupting young minds, especially those with promising transcripts like Jaune Arc. It was bad enough both Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee ended up teaming up with him.

When she reached the cliffside overlooking Emerald Forest, she found his cigar box in plain view. Clicking her tongue, Glynda knelt down and picked up the box. It still had several cigars in it, so Roman didn't just take the cigars and leave the box. Given the fact that it was mere feet from the cliff, she supposed that they could have fallen off. Her grip tightened on the cigar box.

Neither of them had weapons on her as far as she was aware. If they somehow had fallen, then they would have been helpless. She almost leapt off the cliff herself to investigate further when she heard a voice.

"Oh, thank the Gods… You're here."

Turning, she saw Roman Torchwick limping out of the brush, covered in blood. Over his shoulder was Jaune Arc, unconscious. A weak smirk formed on Roman's face as he stumbled towards her and she found herself running to catch him from falling.

"What happened?!" She didn't meant to shout, but the sight of her students on the verge of death kicked in a maternal instinct she didn't know she had. Noticing she was touching him and getting blood all over her, she felt the strong urge to separate from him, but he held in her place by her shoulder.

"He wanted tips on how to lead a team from me," Roman said. He winced in pain, gritting his teeth and shutting his eyes. The cuts on his face could only be from... "He fell. You know him. He's not exactly the most coordinated kid. So I dove after him. Fell right in front of a pack of Beowolves. The fall knocked the kid out. If I hadn't have jumped after him…" Roman trailed off and fell to his knees, but kept a hold of Jaune. Laying Jaune on his back, Roman coughed. "Our Auras are recovering and have started to heal a lot of the damage. Still, you should probably use your Semblance and carry him to the nurse's office."

Glynda nodded. Beowolves. Of course.

"Of course. It could have been a head injury. We have to be careful moving him," Glynda said as she raised her wand and Jaune floated a few feet off the ground. She looked at Roman, scrutinizing his every feature. Roman could be lying. There were a thousand different possibilities as to what really happened. However, there were cuts on Roman's face. She knew very little about the criminal, but she knew the type of ego people like him had. They'd mark up everywhere but the face. If he was faking it, would he really mark his own face like that?

He'd have to be beyond desperate to do something like that, but this man had avoided the law long enough to develop some tricks.

Glynda shook her head.

No, she should stop focusing on the negative. Perhaps Roman was really starting to change already. The two months away from criminal society and his interactions with his teammates could have been more important than she thought. Maybe saving Jaune was an event that would forever change Roman. The joy and fulfillment from doing something good could work wonders.

"Thank you," Glynda said to Roman, who slowly pushed himself back to his feet. He nodded and grinned. Glynda would have to push Ozpin to put some sort of security detail on the cliff. They couldn't risk first years dying. "Do you need any help walking?"

Roman shook his head.

"No. My Aura is coming back quickly. I can limp along with you until I reach the dorms," Roman said.

And he didn't call her "doll" once.

' _Maybe this is a good sign. I'm being overly cautious,'_ Glynda thought. _'Still… something feels off.'_

"If you say so. Follow me."

* * *

 _ **~Weiss~**_

* * *

"And there we go. That's the basics of the Great War covered again. Any questions?" Weiss asked. They were back in their room and, keeping true to her word, Weiss proceeded to make sure her young team member was up to snuff. A chain was only as strong as the weakest link. Besides, Winter had once told her that one of the best ways to learn was to teach somebody else. In this way, Weiss would sharpen her own mind as well as strengthen her team.

"Bleeeeeeh," Ruby said, face down on her desk with a pencil in one hand. They could barely make it fit in their room, but Weiss made Ruby sit at it with while she stood beside the girl in red. Needless to say, finding that all of Ruby's notes so far had been doodles had been expected. "I hate this. What does old stuff have to do with killing Grimm?"

"If you have any real drive for becoming a Huntress, then you'll put in the proper work," Weiss scolded. "Knowing the events of the past can allow us to make better decisions in the future, else we'd be doomed to repeat them again."

Ruby looked up at Weiss and rolled her eyes.

"You sound like a textbook."

"Trust me," Weiss said as she cracked her knuckles, "You'll sound like one too when I'm done with you."

Over on her bed, Nilla stopped playing with her Scroll and made a heart with her hands and sent it towards Ruby, who weakly extended her hands towards the small girl.

"Help me, pleeeeease," Ruby begged as she reached out for her one and only hope.

Laughing, Nilla broke the heart in two and let one half fall.

"Traitor!" Ruby cried.

Weiss sighed. On this team, she could only have real conversations about things that mattered with Jack, even though he was an ass. As talented as Nilla was, her having to type everything meant that she was terse with her word choice and normally only stuck to Jack. Ruby was talkative enough to sustain a conversation with Nilla, but Weiss and Nilla's conversations often broke apart or dissolved. Then, of course, there was Ruby. Who took _nothing_ seriously except fighting. And even then Weiss wasn't sure if Ruby was being serious.

"Hello, gang!" Jack said as he burst into the room, his hair wet and his clothes covered in blood. "I trust we're all getting along here! Turns out, they _don't_ have spare uniforms readily available near the showers. You'd assume they would. Hard enough fights almost always end in a wardrobe malfunction! Ha!"

"Are you okay?" Weiss stuttered out. She glanced over at Ruby, but the girl's jaw looked like it had dropped straight through the floor. Jack smiled.

"I am doing _wonderfully_ , dear little lovely prissy princess. Despite the fact that I'm wearing my blood like a holiday sweater, I've made a fant _astic_ recovery thanks to that _amazing_ thingly thingie thing called Aura! What a wonderful thing! It solves every problem! I love every bit of this screwed up world to bits!" Jack declared as he moved over to his bed. Weiss froze in pure shock.

"What's wrong with you?! The real Jack is never this happy!" Ruby suddenly cried. Over on her bed, Nilla rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Don't do drugs, little reddie red Red," Jack suddenly said to Ruby. "They're allllll for me." He yawned. "Goodnight."

Then he fell onto his bed and passed out.

"I have… so many questions," Weiss said.

Ruby just looked at Weiss with a helpless shrug. Nilla got of her bed, dove underneath Jack's bed, and pulled out a black suitcase. Opening it, she pulled out a spare uniform and nodded with a grin. Then she started to unbutton his jacket.

"Nilla… what are you doing?" Ruby asked. The mute girl sighed then whipped her head to face Ruby. Nilla glanced at Jack's spare clothes, then gestured to his unconscious body, and then back to the clothes.

"I think we should leave the room, Ruby," Weiss suggested. Ruby shook her head fast enough that Weiss thought the girl used her Semblance and the two of them bolted for the exit.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

 _Red leaves hung overhead, connected to dark tree trunks so densely placed that light could barely pierce the canopy. The grass felt soft. He blinked once. Twice._

 _His arms and legs were tightly bound behind him._

 _Tape over his mouth._

 _No gag or blindfold,_

 _He winced._

 _Shoulder. Knee. Side._

 _Aura could heal him once it recovered._

 _Beside him, he heard whimpering. Faint weeping. Muffled. He turned to see a girl, a rabbit faunus with brown hair tied up in a similar way to him, but with a blindfold and presumably a proper gag. He turned his head the other direction and he could see and hear the distant sound of trees falling. He heard the thunder of hundreds of stomping feet. Perhaps the blindfold was a mercy._

 _Something in him burned and he forced his tongue against the tape on his mouth. With practiced skill, he slipped his tongue underneath the tape and began to loosen it. Moving his tongue around the circumference of his mouth while flexing his mouth into strange shapes, he loosened the tape and pulled it into his mouth before spitting it out on the ground. He could still taste the dull plastic. He tried to dislocate his unhurt shoulder to slip his bonds, but he found he had no proper leverage with the way he was tied up._

 _Thunder was getting closer._

 _He turned to the bound faunus. She was dressed in some sort of yellow and black armor. Most likely a Huntress. If he was going to get out of here and live to have revenge, he'd need her help._

 _"I'm a first year Huntsman in training at Beacon. You can call me Jack," he said. "Tied up like you. I'm going to need your help if we're going to get out of here."_

 _Muffled words were his response. He clicked his tongue. She was gagged. He moved his face along her, bit the end of the tape and pulled it away from her mouth. She spit out her gag before her cries broke out into the air._

 _"It's too late! I-I can't move… My legs are broken," she said. "I can't escape."_

 _Thunder was getting closer. Now he could see them. A swarm of Ursa. They must have had some sort of nest in Forever Fall._

 _"Calm down. We can figure this out. If you could just bite through my wrist bindings, I can get us out of here. Together," he lied. "What's your name?"_

 _"V-Velvet… Velvet S-Scarlatina. Second year at Beacon," she said. "I can try to help, but…" She swallowed. "I can hear them… They're close! There's not enough time! I'm sorry!"_

 _"We'll make time, doll," Roman assured her, the growing pit in his stomach agreeing with every word she said. "I'm not blindfolded. They're far away."_

 _He looked again. They were getting closer every second. There wouldn't be enough time for both of them to escape, but if she could just at least bite through his bindings—!_

 _"I'm not ready to die! I don't want to die!" She suddenly screamed._

 _"Shut up and stop squirming!" Roman shouted._

 _He spun around on the ground, intending to bring his bonds to her mouth._

 _His head was pointed towards the stampede._

 _Unfortunately, she was right._

 _His life was stamped out in an instant by the stampeding thunder, their roars the last song that Roman Torchwick ever heard._

* * *

 _ **~An Exchange of Texts~**_

* * *

{No, we're not going to warn her, Neo. She's perfect.}

{I get it! You're right. She's super important.}

{Exactly. You always catch on quickly.}

{But… what are we going to do about the Forger?}

{We're trapped, Neo. Everywhere I look there's some big, important figure waving their dick around. Spouting bullshit about testing me. Wanting me to be their pawn. Forger, Ozpin, whoever the hell that Ilia girl was talking about in my dream. No… given that she works with Cinder… She was referring to some White Fang leader? Well, whoever they are, fuck them. Roman Torchwick is not a pawn in somebody else's game. I refuse to be demeaned and turned into some two-bit act. I'm the star and this will be _my_ show. Neo, we need to do more than just survive.}

{What's the plan then?}

{A secret. For now.}

{Even from me?}

{Even from you.}

{You don't have a plan yet, do you?}

{It may still be a bit rough, but I most certainly have a plan. And, if by some miracle nothing goes horribly wrong, we'll stop just surviving. We'll thrive.}

* * *

 _ **~Ruby~**_

* * *

The morning after Jack burst into the room covered in blood, she met him at the weapon lab again. To Ruby's relief, he'd cleaned himself up and was working diligently on mixing Dust and drawing up a few different design ideas. Ruby got back to work on his vambrace, modifying it and expanding it so it could fit the things he wanted inside. Although her progress with making it shoot was going well, she still couldn't wrap her mind around the second thing Jack wanted installed into it. It hardly seemed practical or useful against Grimm.

"Hey, Jack," Ruby said with a wave. He stopped working and looked at her; all the energy and joy he had the previous night had vanished. "It's the second day, so I want to know something else about you. Like… why you _really_ wanted me to be on your team."

Jack narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I've already told you that my Semblance told me you were strong," Jack explained, his tone suspicious. Ruby rubbed the back of her head and frowned.

"Yeah. You did, but…" She gulped and found her courage again. "That whole thing with the Sparring Club where you just kinda disappeared… Look, I'm not very smart when it comes to, well, people, but why would you use it to see how strong people are if your Semblance is supposed to do it for you? I want to trust you, Jack, but if you lied about your Semblance then… that means… did you lie about me being strong? Did you know about me before we even met for the first time? I just really want to know ho—"

"Okay, I get it, Red," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "You got me. I lied about my Semblance to make you feel better. _Wow_. I am _so_ evil and scheming."

Ruby bit her lip. She didn't mean it like that. She had been freaking out and trying to impress her new partner and him telling her that _did_ calm her down. Still… he lied to her like it was nothing. But it was for a good reason, right? That means it's fine, right?

"So, then… did we really meet on accident in the initiation?" Ruby asked. Jack nodded.

"I was aiming for the infamous Weiss Schnee and ran into you, Red. Luckily, I ended up on her team anyways," Jack said. "And for the record, regardless of my opinion of your strength at the time I called you strong, I currently _know_ how strong you can be just from watching you. Your Semblance and weapon work shockingly well together."

' _Weiss made it seem like a much bigger deal than it was,'_ Ruby thought, exhaling. Jack was her partner. If she was going to work with him for the next few years, then she had to be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"So, Mr Team Leader, what _is_ your Semblance?" Ruby asked, arms entwined behind her back. Jack sighed.

"I already told you your one fact. Let's focus on the task at hand for now," Jack said. Ruby sagged her shoulders in disappointment, but reluctantly nodded.

"Okay…" Ruby reached over and lifted up the vambrace off the workbench. It was now bulkier and, where there was once a single hole at the end of it, there were now two placed next to each other with one hole being much bigger than the other. "The firing mechanism is coming along pretty well. The, erm, air freshener thingie is already finished."

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I've told you several times already. It's not an air freshener, Red," Jack said. "Anyway, it's good to hear that you're making progress. I've been working on a few ideas of my own." Jack lifted a small, white capsule off the table.

"A false tooth filled with Burn Dust. If a Huntsman can't move, then they can bite into it and—" Jack began.

"Explode their head?" Ruby finished. Jack's eyes narrowed, but Ruby shrugged. "As far as I've seen, you can't really reinforce your insides with Aura. I used to try it whenever I'd get a tummy ache. It didn't work." Ruby forced a laugh.

"My… intention was to shoot fire out of the user's mouth, but now _I_ seem like the idiot. What do you propose?" Jack asked.

Ruby put her finger to her chin and waited for a few moments to fake thinking about it. She already knew a much more simple solution.

"A choker," Ruby said with a grin.

"I'm not wearing a damn collar like a filthy mutt," Jack fired back.

"It's stylish!"

"No!" Jack crossed his arms.

"Yes!" Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"Never! Not in a million years!"

"...Do you have a better idea?"

Jack couldn't answer that question. Biting his lip for a moment, he sighed.

"Fine," he answered. Ruby pumped up one fist.

"Yay!"

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

It was lunch time again. Now that Roman had the poison in his possession, he didn't have to throw Neo his food and have her test it for him. Rather, Ruby had decided to throw food towards Neo during lunch. While Ruby was having fun, Roman just knew that Neo was never one to turn down free food. Nobody raised in the streets of Vale would. As for him, he could focus on scanning the cafeteria for a certain little rabbit-eared faunus.

The dream the previous night had told him a number of things. First of all, his decision to recruit Jaune had led to his captors not blindfolding or gagging him properly. In that case, the most likely reason was due to them being in a rush. If he had JRNY as support coming to rescue him, then it made sense for Cinder and her goons to haphazardly throw Roman to where they knew he would die. Which would mean the swarm of Ursa was definitely planned. As flattering as it was that they would use such overwhelming force, Roman knew he wasn't the primary goal. The Forger had told him that Cinder was desperate. All the pieces started to finally come together. He smirked. It felt good to be ahead of the curve this time.

"Jack."

She wasn't at any of the crowded tables. Given that she was a second year, that very fact seemed odd. From what he remembered, there was only one lunch period, but a lot of the older students were able to go off campus and eat in the town in Vale. Still, he had to make sure she wasn't in the cafeteria before he went and looked around Vale.

" _Jack,_ " Weiss emphasized, clearly not wanting to raise her voice too high. Roman rolled his eyes and turned to look at her.

"I'm busy. What is it?" Roman said. Weiss cocked an eyebrow but let his remark slide.

"Are you ever going to explain what that was last night?" Weiss asked. Roman rubbed his temples. She wanted answers. Of course she wanted answers. _Everybody_ wanted answers. He didn't expect Jerry to have morphine _that_ strong.

' _I'm an idiot. I should have asked Little Miss Goodwitch for pain meds instead. You did this on purpose, didn't you, Jerry? That conniving little cretin.'_

"Fine. I went to help Nilla in the kitchen when Jaune wanted advice on being a team leader. Long story short, Grimm attacked and I saved him. Took pain meds afterward. Satisfied?" Roman answered. Off to the side, Ruby tossed a carrot high and Neo jumped out of her seat, grabbing it with her mouth before flipping and landing in a handstand. Some of the nearby tables clapped.

Weiss scowled as she stabbed her fork into a potato.

"You could have called us," Weiss said. "And you shouldn't have even gone near any Grimm! There's plenty of safe spaces at Beacon! Your behavior was irresponsible _at best_!"

Roman let his eyes wander around the various tables, continuing his search.

"Princess, I wouldn't have tried to save him if I didn't know I could succeed in doing so alone," Roman answered, perpetuating the lie. "If nothing else, at least trust in _that_."

Weiss huffed and turned her head away.

"I'll hit you if you do something like that again. _Hard_ ," Weiss said. Roman smirked.

"I'll hit back." At the moment, he saw past her head, in the corner of the large cafeteria, at a table all by herself, was a rabbit faunus.

Roman looked her over, taking in her long brown hair and ears before nodding to himself. That was the one. Now he just had to spin this the right way.

"That faunus girl over there is sitting all by herself. Let's pay her a visit," Roman said. Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you want from _her_?" She asked. Roman faked a laugh.

"Oh, princess. You know I'm the charitable sort. After all, I went out of my way to talk to you," Roman said with a wink.

"And everyday I regret talking to you more," Weiss replied and then sighed. "I suppose I have to come with you to make sure you don't do anything."

Roman turned his head to look at Ruby and Neo, but the two had stopped their antics are were both looking at Roman.

"I-I'll come too!" Ruby said with a smile. Neo just grinned.

* * *

 _ **~Velvet~**_

* * *

Velvet was having a nerve-wracking day. She got sorted into a different lunch hour than the rest of her team and on top of that she had to do makeup classes. It was hardly her fault that she missed so much class last year, but there was nothing to be done about the past. Now she had homework from _two_ years as well as missions with her team. At the very least, that Cardin Winchester fellow that she'd heard awful things about had not passed the initiation. That fact brought her some relief in her current crisis.

' _If I reduce my sleep schedule from six hours to three, then I should be able to get my history homework done. If I work hard, I might get more sleep than that!'_ Velvet thought.

"Eating alone?" A voice asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a team of first years, led by a brown-haired, bowler-hat wearing individual who she swore could pass for a second or third year easily, if not a teacher. Her first instinct was to hide behind her camera, but it was packed up and not easy to get to. Her second instinct, of course, was to run away.

She recognized him now. Jack Candlestick.

He'd only been at the school for a few days, but rumors were spreading like wildfire people said he started in the Emerald Forest. Some said he abused his teammates. The most recent one she heard earlier that morning was that somebody saw him walking to the dorm covered in human blood last night. Velvet swallowed.

' _Be brave. You're his upperclassmen. Besides, rumors have been proven wrong before, right?'_ She thought as she forced a smile on her face and turned to look at him.

"...M-My teammates and I got separated in the lunch schedule, so—"

She was interrupted by Jack sitting down at the table directly across from her. He smirked and motioned to his teammates.

"Then I suppose you could do with some company, hmm?" Jack said. The white-haired girl, Weiss Schnee, rolled her eyes and sat at the farthest away seat on the opposite side of the table. Velvet could understand that. The Schnees didn't get along with faunus. A part of her hurt, but being ignored was something Velvet was used to. At the very least, it was better than being outwardly harassed. A short, black-haired girl sat next to Jack and slightly-taller black-haired girl with silver eyes sat next to Velvet.

"My name's Ruby Rose! What's yours?" The silver-eyed girl asked. Velvet swallowed.

"V-Velvet Scarlatina. I'm a second year," Velvet answered. At that, Ruby's eyes widened and she reached across the table to grab the hand of the smaller girl.

"Look, Nilla! A second year!" Ruby said, pointing at Velvet with the other girl's hand. The other girl, "Nilla", nodded, but then took her hand back and inspected it before setting it back on the table.

' _I think she and I have a class together,'_ Velvet thought, trying to recall the somewhat familiar face. At some level, she'd seen all of them in passing, but Nilla stuck out to her. As far as she could recall, she hadn't heard the girl say a single thing. And Velvet prided herself on her hearing.

"Now, I'm sure you're aware, but the princess in the corner is the infamous Schnee girl and I'm the delightfully popular Jack Candlestick that everybody likes to spread rumors about," Jack said, interrupting Velvet's thoughts. He smiled. "I unfortunately have yet to meet whoever started all those rumors. I can assure you that they're I'm not the monster them may paint me as."

From the corner, Schnee added, "He's still an asshole."

Jack's smile grew wider.

"That I am. Would you like to be friends?" Jack asked, extending his hand across the table. Velvet's mind blanked for a moment before rebooting.

' _Friends? When all my other classmates ignore me or stare at my ears… When they whisper when they think I can't hear… He wants to be friends?'_ Velvet's thoughts swirled in her head. While Beacon was perfectly fine accepting faunus students, they hardly enforced any fair treatment policy. Velvet had known enough humans to think Jack's offer was a bad idea.

Then she looked at Ruby, whose silver eyes sparkled with excitement. Her forced smile faded away and a true smile replaced it as she took his hand.

"That sounds nice, actually," Velvet said. At the very least, she could call Coco if anything went wrong.

* * *

 _ **~Jaune~**_

* * *

Class was over for the day, finally. Russel, Yang, Pyrrha… they were surprised to say the least when Miss Goodwitch told them Roman's made-up story. Yang and Pyrrha had been worried and Pyrrha even wanted to go and personally thank Roman for "saving" Jaune, but he stopped them in their tracks.

Jaune made a choice and it led him to this point, to the point where he now worked for Roman Torchwick. He didn't want them to get involved with Roman. After sleeping on it and letting his mind catch up to everything that happened, that was the decision he came to. He couldn't trust Roman. He couldn't trust anyone involved with Vale's underground. He trusted the Forger and all that got him was pain. Even if Roman seemed like a nice man or a hero, Jaune wasn't smart enough to tell what was real and what was fake. Part of him wanted to believe in the man wholeheartedly.

But the rest of him wanted to learn from his interactions with the Forger.

Jaune sighed. He was lying in his bed back in his dorm room as he thought about all of this. It was Tuesday. There'd be no Sparring Club today, but tomorrow he'd have no choice but to attend. Pyrrha and Yang went out. Yang to presumably hang out with her younger sister and Pyrrha to go out and train. Which left him alone in the room with Russel. The other boy in his team was sitting on his bed with a comic, reading it with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Russel?" Jaune asked. Russel grunted back.

"You're from this city, right?"

Russel grunted back again.

"What's a Nameless?" Jaune asked. He'd heard the Forger use the term before and even Roman apparently used to have no name before the Forger gave it to him.

"Stay away from them," Russel answered, still reading his comic. Jaune cocked an eyebrow and sat up.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. Russel sighed, closed his book, and then turned to face Jaune.

"Since you won't leave me alone, I might as well tell you. The only people in this city that have no names are the ones who didn't have anybody to give them one. Kids from the streets who have no orphanage. They're used by criminals all the time. Vicious, violent kids that grow up to be vicious violent people if they live that long," Russel answered, scratching the back of his head.

Jaune stood up.

"Why would…" He couldn't force the words out, yet Russel got his meaning and nodded.

"You're from a small town, so you don't really get it, dude. The city of Vale is safe from the Grimm. That kinda safety comes at a price. Some people can't afford to live here alone, let alone with children. Or sometimes people need to leave for other reasons. You can't travel with a baby. Those things draw Grimm like nothing else, man. So they leave 'em behind. Sometimes there's nothing else you can do," Russel said with a shrug. "This is all pretty common knowledge, but there's nothing Ozpin can really do other than try to make more orphanages. But then kids get grabbed up by criminals on the way to or from the orphanage. Sometimes they run away on their own. I mean, these kids grow up to be criminals and bandits. They have a special kinda insanity."

"I see," Jaune said. What else could he say to that?

"So I'm guessing you met one then?"

Jaune jerked.

"Huh?!" He swallowed. "No, I just heard the term somewhere."

Russel shrugged and picked his comic back up.

"Eh, it's not my problem. I don't really care too much, 'leader'. As long as you don't get us all killed and we're able to look good, that's all I need from you," Russel said. Jaune looked away from Russel and fell back onto his own bed.

"Sure. I can do that. I think," Jaune said.

* * *

 _ **~Roman~**_

* * *

 _He fell to his knees, blood oozing from his multiple wounds. The surrounding cave seemed larger, blurrier, darker than he remembered. Melodic Cudgel had broken. He was out of time, out of Aura, and out of luck. His body had long stopped listening to him and escape was impossible. The others wouldn't make it in time._

" _Now_ that _is a good position. Kneeling," a voice said. Familiar. He looked up and saw him. Roman snarled._

" _One that you're used to, I'm sure," Roman fired back as he looked up at his foe. He wiped the blood from his eyes and for a moment they focused. The boy with the steely hair. Mercury. The shit stain of a once famous killer now busy being Cinder's mad dog. Mercury laughed._

" _You see, that's why I hate you, Roman. You remind me of my father. Always wanting to get the last word in. People mean nothing to you. Just like they no longer mean anything to me," Mercury said as he walked closer. Roman's vision swam and then dived deep into the darkness below and he struggled to remain above the surface of consciousness._

" _Daddy issues? Again? Further proof that family ruins people. Always," Roman said. Mercury chuckled._

" _I couldn't agree more."_

 _Then he brought his leg back..._

 _And killed Roman with a kick._

* * *

Roman woke up, gasping for air and clutching his head in pain. After a moment, the pain passed, and his breathing evened. He could never get used to dying. He stared up at the white ceiling, the faint bit of moonlight that passed through the window illuminating the room just enough for him to see.

Slowly, he put the pieces together in his mind.

Cinder's desperation.

A swarm of Ursa.

The White Fang.

The assassin girl, Illia.

The cave where he would fight Mercury.

The hostages.

' _So she's resorting to using human bait to draw a horde of Grimm. Cinder, your cards are showing. You're_ that _desperate for Dust?'_ Roman thought with a smirk. _'You've provided the perfect opening for me to tear you apart. And I have more than enough time to do so.'_

When he finally left his bed and the others had started to rouse, he noticed a slip of paper in front of his door. He bent down and picked it up only for his eyes to widen. He grit his teeth and threw it behind him before leaving his room and stomping off to the dorm showers.

' _Shit.'_

The message rang clear in his head.

"Due to some scheduling malfunctions, we are moving the Forever Fall field trip up to this Friday. Please get all your documentation in before then."

And it was fucking Wednesday.

* * *

 **Next Chapter: Revenge**

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out! I was very busy and, to be honest, season 5 of RWBY hampered my motivation. Still, I have no plans on quitting and will continue this fic to its planned conclusion as best as I can.**

 **Mystery of the Chapter: In an enclosed room, there is a corpse. There are two doors on opposite sides of the room and no windows. In the middle of the room, there is a chair that has been bolted to the floor. The corpse is leaned up against the wall facing the chair with each door on the left and right of the corpse, respectively. Attached to one of the door knobs is a long string. In one corner of the room is a locker with cleaning supplies. The doors are both locked from the inside of the room. The cause of death is strangulation, but not suicide. How did the victim die?**


End file.
